Misunderstood Perceptions
by BernieR
Summary: Buffy and the gang get word of vampires in Seattle and move to Forks. What happens when their paths cross those of the Cullens and a pack of werewolves? Tensions are high, but can they put aside their differences and work together to stop a vampire army?
1. Welcome To Forks

When Buffy and the gang get word of a vampire uprising in Seattle, they move to Forks. But what happens when their paths cross those of the Cullen family and a pack of werewolves? With things already tense between the Quileute tribe and the Cullens, will Buffy's instinct to kill Edward, widen the divide and weigh the odds in favor of the werewolves? Or will she side with the vampires when one of the gang becomes drawn to one of the wolves in a way seemingly mystical way? Or will everyone be able to find a way to put aside their differences and work together in order to stop a vampire army on a mission, the death of Bella Swan?

This takes place after the final season of Buffy and during Eclipse.

**_I do NOT own the characters of Buffy or Twilight, just the very talented Joss Whedon and Stephenie Meyer do._**

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**CHAPTER 1- Welcome To Forks**

"Dawn, watch what you're doing!" Buffy shouted, as she ran over towards Dawn. "You're going to break that!"

"Sheesh! I'm sorry!" she said, handing her the box. "What is it anyways?"

"They are pictures of me and the gang."

Dawn rolled her eyes at her older sister and tuned to face the dreary looking house in front of them. It was a small two story house that was once painted a forest green, though now the paint was chipping and fading in places. "Remind me again why you decided to move us to this cold and awful place?"

Buffy led the way into the old house. "Do you mind waiting till we get inside to start talking about this?"

Dawn slammed the door behind them. "Ok, we're inside now, so remind me again why…"

Buffy set the box on the table and turned to her. "Why we moved here, I know. And you know as well as I do Dawn. You heard what Giles said, there has been a major increase in vampire activity in Seattle and…"

"And we had to move to this stupid town called Spoons? Why not closer to Seattle?"

Buffy sighed. "First off all it's called Forks, not Spoons, wrong utensil. And secondly, you know money is tight right now, the closest I could afford was here. We didn't have much money in the bank to begin with, most of it had been at the house and now it's gone."

"Whatever. I still say this house is old and this town sucks!" With that Dawn headed up the stairs, towards her room.

"Xander said he could fix it up a bit!" Buffy called after her. She shook her head and sighed as the door slammed.

Buffy knew this move would be difficult for all of them. When Sunnydale had been sucked into hell, they all had no idea what was to come next, where they were going to go from there. They didn't have a home anymore, and their finances were bleak. When they had been trying to decide what to do, Giles had gotten word from the council, or what was left of it, that there were some reports of vampires making their presence known in Seattle. As soon as they got together what they could, her and Dawn set out for Seattle to scope things out, while Xander and Willow spilt up with the other Slayers to get them settled in their new prospective places, a good majority of which were to be stationed in Cleveland, close to the other hellmouth. The council had been very eager to make them both official watchers, seeing as they had both been through numerous apocalypses and the fact that there weren't many people jumping at the chance to replace the ones that were killed in the explosion.

The plan was that once Buffy had secured a home for them, and once Xander and Willow knew the others were safe, they would soon follow, along with their slayers: Kennedy and Vi. For now, all she could do was try to help Dawn adjust to their new life in this small town, and try her hardest to find a job. That was next on the list, right after unpacking the few belongings they owned.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"I don't see why you couldn't have just let me drive myself to school," Dawn grumbled in the front seat.

"Yeah, like I'm about to let my teenager sister, with no driving experience and no license for that matter, drive herself to school; and leave me with no car while I try to search for a job. Nice try, not gonna happen."

"Well, seeing as the school year is almost over, I can always just stay home and pick it up next year," she said innocently.

"Ha ha ha, nice try sis, but you already missed enough this past year," Buffy said. "You're lucky they are accepting you this late. If it wasn't for the fact that Sunnydale High was completely gone, then principal Greene wouldn't have gone ahead and signed the necessary paperwork to transfer you. I'm not going to allow you to get held back."

"It's just embarrassing ok! Its bad enough I have to be the new girl, but to stick out even more because my over protective sister decided to drive me to school. They are gonna think you're my overprotective mom."

"I do not look old enough to be your mother!" she replied in a huff.

"You DO still have mom hair, you know that right?" she chuckled as they made it to the front of Forks High School.

"Get out, I'll be back to pick you up after."

"Fine, I'll go. Just try not to talk to any of my friends, if I make any that is."

"You'll make new friends, I promise. Besides, I'll try to be nearby to keep an eye on things, if anything happens."

"Don't stress Buff, it's not like there are going to be any vampires at this school," with that she climbed out the car and slammed the door behind her.

Buffy watched as she headed towards the office. "I do NOT have mom hair," she muttered to herself as she pulled back into traffic and headed for downtown. She wasn't sure where she was going to find a job in this small town, but figured that downtown was probably the best place to start.

She turned down the main road and decided that instead of driving in circles, she'd park and go around on foot. There weren't many occupations a slayer could apply for, but she DID have a killer résumé that Willow had helped her out with. Being that Sunnydale was gone, no one could really check any of her references, so she had "padded" it a little to include jobs that while Buffy never actually did, her slayer skills might come in handy. Willow had tried to put police officer down, but she had drawn the line there, pointing out that she didn't really know enough police lingo to pull that one off.

She had just come to the end of the street when she saw a bright orange sign inside the window of one of the buildings. It was a tall white building with two large columns set into the front, and flagging one single glass door.

"Help wanted: Inquire within," she read once she got close enough to read it. She glanced at the sign above the door; it read: "North Olympic Library."

"Well, at least Giles would be proud," she laughed to herself as she reached for the handle. "And I'll be close enough to keep an eye on Dawn."


	2. Unwelcome Greetings

Thanks very much to my first two reviewers: raised eyebrow, and my niece J for Jenny (she's my #1 fan!)

This next chapter is about twice as long as the last one. It originally was two chapters, but I decided to combine the two cause one looked kind of short to me. I'll try to update as often as possible, I'm writting as fast as I can. I do have the next couple of chapters pretty much done though, just need to be touched up.

Well, happy reading! :)

**_I do NOT own the characters of Buffy or Twilight, just the very talented Joss Whedon and Stephenie Meyer do._**

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**CHAPTER 2- Unwelcome Greetings**

Dawn walked into the cafeteria hesitantly. Half the day had gone by and already she had been bombarded with questions from many people wanting to know all about her. Apparently this school was not used to new students. Or maybe it was the fact that she was starting so late in the year. Either way, it was very unsettling. She wasn't used to this kind of attention.

She looked around the room, to try and find a place to sit. There were many students looking at her intently, but no one making an effort to get her to sit with them. She noticed a lone table in the far corner and was about to head toward it when she heard her name being called from her left side. She turned to see who it was.

"Dawn!" A girl with long blonde hair called to her. "Come sit with us!"

Hesitantly she decided to walk over. "It's better than sitting alone and looking like a big dork," she thought to herself.

A dark brunette haired girl pulled out one of the chairs. "Sit here by me, "she said. "I'm Amanda by the way."

Dawn smiled back. She suddenly recognized the blonde haired girl. She had sat next to her in Spanish, she wasn't positive what her name was, but she was pretty sure it was Brittany.

"O-M-G!" another female voice shouted. They all looked up to see another brown haired girl, with gold streaks in her hair coming over. "You guys will die when I tell you this!" She said once she got to the table. She looked over and saw Dawn sitting there and turned to introduce herself. "Hi, I'm Samantha!" She put out her hand and Dawn shook it slowly.

"Uh, hi," she said.

"Sam, what is it? What happened?"

"Ok, so O-M-G, I was standing in line to buy my apple and juice for lunch, cause you know I totally need to lose like 5 more pounds before prom…"

Dawn held in a laugh. This girl looked far from needing to go on a diet. In fact, in her opinion, she could stand to gain a few so as not to look so anorexic.

"Well, I was standing there, and guess who was in line in front of me?"

"E. C. was there?! Really?!" Brittany whispered in excitement.

"Yep, and guess who WASN'T with him?"

"You're kidding? B. S. wasn't there?" Amanda sounded shocked.

Dawn was starting to get lost already. She couldn't understand why they were suddenly speaking in codes.

"Did they break up? I know I saw her in the office this morning," Brittany began excitedly. "When I went to turn in my doctor's note for gym."

"Well, apparently so, seeing as he was alone," Samantha began again, excitedly.

Dawn rose from her seat. "Where are you going?" Brittany asked. "This is exciting news!"

"I'm just going to get me a soda. Excuse me." With that she walked toward the left side of the cafeteria where the soda machines were, happy to have a moment alone to breathe. "Well that was interesting," she thought to herself.

She reached in her pocket and took out a crumpled $1 bill and attempted to feed it to the machine. She frowned as it spit it back out. She tried again two more times before she let out an exacerbated sigh.

"Did you need some help?" A cheery voice asked from behind her, making her jump. Even with all the noise going on in the cafeteria, there was no doubt she should have at least heard the person's shoes squeaking on the tile floor.

She spun around to see a short pixie like girl with short dark hair standing behind her. She was holding out a crisp brand new bill. "That machine always seems to give me trouble too, I try to save any new bills I get for it."

Dawn stood there motionless. She was taken aback at how beautiful this girl was. No doubt she could have been a model. Before she could clear her head enough to say anything, the girl walked around her and inserted the bill into the machine. "There you go."

"Uh, thanks," Dawn muttered and handed over her bill to the girl.

She shook her head. "It's ok, take it. My name is Alice Cullen by the way. It is very nice to meet you Dawn." Dawn extended her hand to shake hers, but was slightly confused as she turned and began to walk away instead.

"Hey, wait, how did you know my name?"

She spun back around quickly. "Oh, there aren't many new students at our school, you would be the only one, and starting so late in the year. Pretty much everyone knows who you are." She smiled. "I hope you enjoy it here in Forks." She looked off into space for a moment in thought. "Yes, I'm sure you will." With that she turned once again and gracefully walked towards a table with five other people sitting at it.

Dawn shook her head in disbelief and turned to make her selection. Once the can dropped, she turned to head back to her table, half glancing at the one where Alice had gone to sit at. One of the guys at the table, with reddish brown hair, was leaning over and talking directly to Alice. Suddenly he looked up at Dawn, surprising her. She couldn't explain how his look made her feel, like she was dazzled by his beauty somehow. How could one person's look affect her so much? She wasn't sure. He suddenly frowned a little, and then turned to the brown haired girl sitting on his right. He draped his arm around her shoulder and leaned back, seeming suddenly more at ease.

"O-M-G!" Amanda exclaimed as Dawn resumed her seat. "What were you talking to A.C. about?!"

"A.C.?" Dawn was lost all over again.

Amanda sighed with frustration, "Alice Cullen!"

"Oh, um, nothing really, she just helped me with the soda machine, it wouldn't take my bill. Why?"

"She's E.C.'s sister!"

"Who's E.C.?" She was getting really tired of their codes already, wishing that they would just start talking like normal people.

"Uh, only Edward Cullen, the hottest guy on the planet!" Samantha replied annoyed.

"Samantha is going to the dance with E.C. next week."

Dawn looked back over at the table where they were sitting. Edward was whispering something in the brown haired girl's ear and smiling. "It looks like he already has a girlfriend though? That's who he's sitting with right?"

The three girls turned to look in the direction Dawn had been looking towards and gasped. "But I thought that…" Brittany began.

"Oh, he's going with me, he just hasn't said yes yet. It's that stupid Bella Swan that gets in my way. She hangs on him like she owns him," Samantha added.

"Oh," Dawn said cautiously. "From here it seems more the other way around. He's the one with his arm around her."

Amanda and Brittany gasped in shock.

"Shows what you know," Samantha spat.

"I'm sorry," she said apologizing. She didn't want to start out on the wrong foot with these girls, even if she highly doubted she'd spend anymore time with them after today. There was really no telling WHAT they would say to other people about her if she had. "I was just stating a fact. It's just what it seems to me from what I saw… I just…"

"You better watch yourself miss big Sunnydale gal. Brittany invited you to sit with us for a reason," Samantha began. "I have a cousin who lived in Sunnydale. Of course she lives in Los Angeles now, and from what I hear, is doing quite well for herself. She is an actress. I plan on following in her footsteps. And being that you came from the same town as her, I THOUGHT we could be friends."

"I'm sorry," Dawn said again, trying to shut her up. "I apologize. So, who is your cousin? Maybe I know her?" Oddly enough, she really was curious as to who it was.

That worked, Samantha smiled brightly, as if nothing had happened. "Cordelia Chase. She was a legend at Sunnydale High. I know she mentioned your older sister a few times. I'm sure they were the best of friends!"

Dawn wanted to roll her eyes, but thought better of it. "Oh yeah; the bestest!"

"So, anyways, as I was saying earlier," Amanda butted in. "That new movie starring Robert Pattinson comes out this weekend, we should so totally go!"

"Yeah," Brittany added enthusiastically. "He's almost as hot as E.C.!"

"Then it's settled," Samantha said authoritatively. "We go to Port Angeles to see the movie Friday night. And I fully insist you come with us Dawn. It will be fun!"

"Oh sure; fun," she thought sarcastically, but smiled anyway. She was already starting to figure out HOW she was going to get out of this one.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Don't you dare Alice," Edward whispered as she rose from her seat. She simply smiled at him then made a beeline for the new girl, standing near the soda machines.

"What's she doing that has you so worked up?" Bella asked quietly, not wanting Angela, Ben, or Mike, who were sitting at the other end of the table, to overhear.

"She had a vision the other day of the new girl and her sister moving to town."

"But she's seen people coming before, right? Like she did with me?"

"Yes, but only usually if there is some sort of significance to the person or being. You for example are of great significance," he said as he took her hand. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed the top of it while inhaling the scent of her skin. "Like I said, great significance." He smiled a crooked smile at her before taking his eyes from her face to watch Alice.

Bella sighed. She was content with Edward; she knew there wasn't anything he wouldn't do for her, that is, under the right circumstances; marriage being one of them. She eyed him curiously. Something else was bothering him. She knew him well enough to tell when he was hiding something important from her. "What is it that has you so riled up about her talking to the new girl?"

Edward let out a sigh of his own. "I am not completely sure yet. There are a few wholes in the visions she has been having since before they came to town, but one thing is clear, we think she knows more than she lets on. Like she knows something we don't." Bella was confused. What could it be that a random stranger knew that the Cullens did not? "Or maybe just more than she lets on, either way, she also sees an image of Dawn, that's the new girl's name, and her sister, Buffy, standing in front of our home. We are not exactly sure why either. Are they there with hostile or amicable motives? Everything we have tried to unearth about them has lead us toward dead end after dead end. Everything seems to lead to a town that apparently no longer exists."

"And I take it Alice is interpreting the signs as amicable ones?"

Edward laughed. "Yes, as always, Alice is the optimist in the family. She does not see any danger ahead concerning them, at the moment anyways, so she sees it as a good thing. She figures she can gain a new friend." He looked at Bella with a grin. "A friend who will hopefully ENJOY shopping with her on a daily basis," he teased.

Bella groaned. "I've tried Edward, really. I love Alice, but I can't shop with her anymore. After the whole prom deal last year… I just can't be her… Barbie Doll again," she replied jokingly.

"I know love," he laughed. "I know."

"You know what?" Alice asked brightly as she resumed her seat at the table.

"Nothing of consequence," Edward replied jokingly. But his face turned to seriousness at once as he leaned closer toward her. "That was a really stupid move, you know that? What on earth were you thinking Alice!?"

"Like you don't already know," she muttered with an exaggerated pout. "I'm hoping for the best. That's all I CAN do, seeing as my visions are going all haywire these days."

"I'm sorry Jake and the rest of the wolves are messing with your visions Alice," Bella said, partly feeling guilty.

"It's not just them," she sighed. "Ever since I saw Dawn and her sister coming to town, it's just gotten worse."

Edward shook his head and took a quick glance in Dawn's direction to watch her, paying close attention to her thoughts. Suddenly she turned and looked directly at him. "Oh my gosh he's… dazzling gorgeous," he heard her think. Maybe he WAS over thinking the whole situation. Maybe the fact that Alice saw no immediate danger from this new family was a good sign; a sign that they weren't going to be hostile. He smiled, put his arm around Bella's shoulder and leaned back contentedly.

"So Bella, were you still planning on going to La Push tonight?" Alice asked enthusiastically. "We could go do some shopping instead! We can find you an outfit for graduation!"

"I don't know Alice," Edward said with a chuckle, "Why don't you tell us. You would know more than she would."

She pouted once again. "Oh you're some great help," She said and tossed one of her uneaten French fries at him. Edward caught it in mid air, dipped it in ketchup and held it in front of Bella's mouth, who laughed and ate it.

"You have to embrace your inner diva sometime Bella; and sooner rather than later."

Edward leaned in and whispered in Bella's ear, with a smile, "Sooner or later you'll end up her Barbie Doll again."

"I heard that," Alice replied, pretending to be offended. After all, Bella always told her she felt like her Barbie Doll. The three of them laughed. "So, are you?"

Bella sighed, "No, actually I'm not going down till Friday, I…"

"You know, I still don't like the thought of you endangering yourself by going down there," he said sternly.

"I know you disapprove, but you have to see my side Edward," Bella pleaded. "I know Jacob and he won't hurt me. And besides, you promised to try. After all, Alice is trying."

"Actually Bella, I'm with Edward on this one. I can't see you when you're with them, and that bothers me. I don't like not being able to see if you're ok."

"Well, anyways," Bella interrupted, trying to change the subject. "As fun as shopping with you sounds, I can't tonight. I have homework to finish."

"Well poo," Alice said dejectedly. She suddenly smiled, "But I'm holding you to your promise, we can go shopping another night."

"What promise? I never promised to…"

"But you will," she said brightly, looking off into space,

"You know Alice, you really are annoying," Edward said jokingly. Bella laughed.

Alice looked back at him and stuck her tongue out. "Some people just have no appreciation for fashion."

"Hey," Bella interjected jokingly. "I take offense to that."

"Well if you won't go shopping with me, then you have to admit it's true," she laughed. "Now if you'll excuse me, the bell is going to be ringing soon and I have a chance to talk to Dawn some more before class." With that she rose from her seat and began to skip away, leaving a laughing Bella, and Edward shaking his head.


	3. Sociable Chatter

_Hey guys! First off, I want to thank my two new reviewers Hocapontas and TheAngelOfHope, and repeat reviewer raised eyebrow for your great comments! You guys rock! Also, I'd like to give a shout-out to those of you who have subscribed to my story or have added it to your faves. It means a lot to me, to know that you want to be alerted when I update. You guys have gotten me motivated to continue writing!_

_This next chapter is about as long as the last, I'm gonna shoot for this length or longer on each chapter, and (keeping fingers crossed) I'm going to try, try, TRY to update at least once a week. Wish me luck! LOL!_

_BTW, reviews rock my Team Edward socks off! ;)_

**_I do NOT own the characters of Buffy or Twilight, just the very talented Joss Whedon and Stephenie Meyer do._**

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**CHAPTER 3- Sociable Chatter**

Dawn walked out of the cafeteria, now relieved to be away from the three girls. How she thought sitting with them, listening to their gossip and crazy codes for just about anything, was better than sitting alone, she had no idea. Thankfully, she didn't share a class with any one of them next period and would be free for the time being,

They were very insistent, especially Samantha, on getting her to agree to go with them to the movies on Friday night. So far, she hadn't been able to get out of it.

"Dawn!" a cheery voice called from behind her. She sighed, thinking for sure it was Amanda, Brittany, or Samantha. However, she was relieved once she turned back around to see Alice coming towards her. Surprise washed over her face as she approached her.

"Do you mind if I walk with you to class?"

"Uh, sure, if you want. I'm headed to room 21."

"What a coincidence," Alice said brightly. "My next class is in room 20!" Somehow, and Dawn wasn't sure how, but she could swear the look on Alice's face wasn't that of surprise.

"So how do you like it here in Forks so far?"

"Uh, I'm not sure yet. My sister and I actually only got into town two days ago, so I haven't seen much aside from our home and the school."

"Well, there isn't MUCH to do here in town, granted, but there are a lot of shops in Port Angeles!" Alice said brightly.

"Really?!" Dawn asked getting a little happier. She was a girl after all, and shopping always proved to be great therapy at times.

"Yes, a lot of cute little dress shops. We should go sometime, it would be fun!"

"Really?!"

Alice laughed, "Yes. We could go someday after school, if your sister would allow it of course, which I'm sure she will."

Dawn sighed, "I sure hope so."

"Is your sister very protective of you?"

"Yes, Buffy is, sometimes I think too much. I think she's afraid of something scary jumping out at me at night. Like a creature of the night or something." Dawn said half joking.

Alice stopped walking momentarily in shock, and Dawn stopped and turned back to face her. "I was just kidding, you know, like the boogey man or something." Dan said quickly. Even though SHE knew there were things that went bump in the night, she didn't want this girl to think she was nuts; especially since she was being so nice to her.

Alice quickly recovered and laughed her chime like laugh, as if nothing was wrong. "So tell me some more about your sister? What does she do?" she asked as they began to resume their walking.

"Well, I'm not sure what she'll be doing here, I know today she was going to be looking for a job."

"What about where you came from? Sunnydale was it?"

"Wow, things really don't stay secret for long, do they?" Dawn asked awkwardly.

"You'll find word spreads quickly through these halls. Anything you don't want publicly know, pretty much fat chance, unless you keep it to yourself or your really, really close friends."

"Like you and Bella and your brother?"

"I take it the Wannabe's have told you about us three," she laughed.

"The Wannabe's?"

"Samantha, Brittany, and Amanda. Most of the people here refer to them as such because they think they are popular and run this school. Samantha, I guess you could say she's the ringleader. Brittany and Amanda pretty much do whatever she tells them to."

Dawn laughed. "Yeah, that's kind of the vibe I got from them. Samantha is very bossy. She also seems to think she's dating your brother."

"Ah yes, Edward's stalker," Alice laughed. "Nope, he pretty much is annoyed by her to the extreme. She is constantly throwing herself at him, but my brother only has eyes for Bella, which is as it should be. They are perfect for each other. I couldn't ask for a better future sister-in-law, even if she doesn't like to go shopping."

"Future sister-in-law?" Dawn asked confusingly.

Alice paused a moment. She hadn't meant to let that slip, the only one who knew about that vision were her and her brother, who had the ability to read minds. Usually she was very good at keeping secrets, look at how many centuries she was able to keep their family secret quiet. But there was something about this girl that made her feel more relaxed, like if she HAD found out about their family, she wouldn't care. It would seem natural. Alice couldn't shake the feeling. "I'm just saying, you see, ever since they've been together, they have been practically inseparable. So in my minds eye, if they DID get married down the line someday, it wouldn't be a big surprise to anybody." With that, she smiled brightly.

"So what did you say your sister did again?"

"Oh yeah, well, back in Sunnydale she was a counselor at my high school."

"Why didn't she try to apply at our school then?" she asked eagerly.

"I'm not sure, I never thought about it," Dawn smiled. "But it's great news to me, because at least I have one place I can be away from her during the day."

Alice laughed as they both stopped walking, as they were now in front of their respective classrooms. "Well, I really hope you enjoy it here in Forks!" Alice said brightly.

Dawn waved and bid her goodbye as they both turned to head to their classes. "At least that went well," she thought to herself, as she made her way to an empty seat in the back. "Maybe tomorrow I won't have to sit with the 'Wannabes!'"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Dawn!" a girls voice shouted from her left as she exited her classroom. She turned happily, hoping it was Alice. However, her face fell slightly when she saw it was actually Samantha.

"Oh, hi."

Samantha huffed as she approached her. "Well you don't seem happy to see me," she said angrily.

Dawn quickly recovered, "No, just tired is all. That last class was hell." She still had no idea why she felt compelled to please this girl, even if she WAS highly annoying.

Samantha peered in the door to take a quick glance at the teacher. "Oh yeah, Mr. Westbrook is tough. I never cared for him."

"Yeah, I can tell why," she laughed awkwardly. Dawn quickly looked down at her watch, as though looking for a way out. "Well, see you later," she said as she turned and began to walk toward the parking lot.

"Wait! I was going to see if you wanted to go down to La Push beach tonight," she said. "The three of us were thinking of going down, some of the other kids are going to have a bonfire!"

"I'm sorry, I can't," Dawn replied. "My sister is picking me up, and we still have a lot of unpacking to do."

"You're going to be in town a while though, I'm sure. You have plenty of time to do all that. Come on!"

"I can't, I already promised her I'd help. Besides, I really should try to catch up on the assignments here."

Samantha pouted, "Well fine, but you ARE coming with us on Friday night right? I won't take no for an answer."

Dawn sighed inwardly. "Yes, I'll go." She looked up to see the car parked by the curb. Dawn smiled, happy to finally have an escape route. "Well, I see my sister! Gotta go!" With that, she waved goodbye to a dumbstruck Samantha, and hurried over to the car.

Dawn quickly opened the car door and climbed in.

"So, how did school go?" a male voice asked.

"Xander!" she shouted excitedly and reached over to hug him "When did you get in?"

"Just a few hours ago, the Buffster asked me to pick you up today. She started her new job already. She's on Giles duty."

"Giles duty?"

"Librarian, kinda ironic don't ya think?"

"But that's gotta be a totally boring job."

"Hey, it will keep food on the table at least. This Watcher gig, yeah, not all it's cracked up to be. Wish Giles would have warned us about the small paycheck; and the dental plan, don't even get me started."

"Then why do it?"

"I wanna make an effort. That's gotta count for something right? And being a one-eyed pirate, kinda hard to get with the slayin"

Dawn laughed, "But it's only girls who are slayers, right?"

"Details, details. So, anyways, you avoided my question. How was school?"

"Horrible," she sighed. "I'm never going back."

"Aww, it couldn't have been that bad Dawnie."

"It is…it was!"

"How so, did you end up with a teacher who just so happens to be a praying mantis and asked you to go to their house after school to work on a special project?"

"Huh?"

"Never mind…so why was it so bad? Didn't you make any new friends?" Xander asked.

"Sort of, but…"

"But what?"

"They are weird and very much about the whole attention."

"Sounds like another generation of Cordettes," he laughed.

"Actually, its funny you should say that. One of the girls is Cordelia's cousin."  
"Really?"

"Yep, and apparently, being from Sunnydale, where she went to school and you guys knowing Cordelia, is the only reason they want to be my friend."

Xander shook his head. "That can't be the reason. What gave you that idea?"

"Probably from when she said that she has a cousin who lived in Sunnydale and that seeing as I'm from Sunnydale she THOUGHT we could be friends."

"Ouch, I'm sorry Dawn."  
She shrugged. "Its ok, they were way weird anyways. They talk in codes. OMG, E.C., A.C., …B.S.! It's annoying!"

"Oh come one, just because they talk in codes, doesn't mean its bull sh…" he paused and corrected himself, "bull."

"No, B.S. is another one of their codes. But now that you mention it, it is kinda B.S.!"

"Well didn't you meet any other people?"

"There was one other girl, she seemed fairly nice. She walked with me to class after lunch. She wants to go shopping together someday after school." she laughed."

"Well that's good at least. You'll have someone to hang out with," Xander said as he pulled the car up in front of the little house. He sighed, "So this is our new home, huh?"

"Haven't you seen it yet?"

"Yeah, but I'm still living in denial," he laughed.

"I told Buffy it sucked."

"Hey, I'll work my carpentry magic on it and it will be a lot better, I promise."

"Whatever you say," Dawn replied, rolling her eyes. She climbed out of the car, followed by Xander.

"Have some faith Dawnie. Besides, Willow, Kennedy and Vi are here as well, and tonight we are going to meet Buff when she's getting off work, to go out to dinner."

"Oh joy, oh rapture," she said sarcastically. "I guess eating is pretty much the ONLY thing to do here then, huh?"

"Listen, if it will make you feel any better, this weekend we can drive around and do some exploring. See what this little town has to offer and what kind of trouble we can get into," he said with a smirk.

She brightened. "Just us two?"

"Just us."

She smiled. Even after all these years, she had to admit, she still had a little crush on him.


	4. Tensions Run Deep

_First off I wanna thank my reviewers: J for Jenny (the dorkiest niece in the world, i love ya girl!), TheAngelOfHope, All. Alone. In. the. World  
, foxykitsuneyouko, Ida, and iNSOMNIAC-rEADER-2010. You guys all rock! Thanks for the great comments! Also a big thanks goes out to all those who have added my story to their faves or story alerts. It means a lot to know you are all anxiously awaiting updates! :)_

_So yeah, as promised, this next chapter is about as long as the last two, maybe a little longer, and hello, it's friday, so I made it with the once a week updates so far. YAY FOR ME! LOL!_

_Well, I hope you guys enjoy this next addition! Happy reading!_

_P.S. Reviews dazzle me as much as Edward's gaze does! ;)_

**_I do NOT own the characters of Buffy or Twilight, just the very talented Joss Whedon and Stephenie Meyer do. I only own the characters the wannabes, and who wants to own them? ;)_**

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**Chapter 4- Tensions Run Deep**

"This is ridiculous Bella," Edward stated in the car. They had just dropped Alice off at home and were now headed toward the public library.

Bella laughed. "You're being a bit over dramatic about this, don't you think?"

"I'm only being cautious. I'm deeply concerned about your safety love. You have no idea how important you are to me."  
"Edward, we both know it's been awhile since you last went hunting with Jasper, Carlisle, and Emmett. Your eyes are starting to get darker."

"I can handle it," he shrugged.

"I don't doubt that. But I'm sure they want to spend some guy time with you."

He smiled his crooked smile. "Guy time?"

"You know what I mean, some male bonding or whatever you call it. Either way, I'm sure they would be disappointed if you didn't go."  
"Well you are right about one thing. Emmett was thinking about trying to tackle me if I try to skip out again," he laughed.

"See, so it's settled."

"I just don't like leaving you alone, especially right now."

"Well seeing as you don't want me going down to La Push tonight." Edward winced at the notion. "I don't see any other option."

"Alice made an excellent point today Bella," Edward began. "She can't see you when you are around Jacob Black. I'd rather be close enough nearby when you ARE with him. I just want you to be safe love."

"I know. And that is why I know I'll be fine at the library while you go hunt. It will only be for a couple of hours, and Alice will see if anything bad is going to happen, she can call you and I know you'll be racing back in no time. I'll be safe."

"I still don't see why you just can't wait till I get back to work on it."

"Because if I do that, I know you will just try to write it for me, I have to do this on my own. Just because you finished your paper on WWI ages ago…"

"I promise not to write it for you," he laughed. "But, there really is no need for you to waste your time on research when you have a perfectly good source for your paper." He pointed to himself, "Lived and died through it."

Bella laughed. "I can handle it. Besides, aren't you the one that's always telling me I have so many human experiences I should well…experience?"

"I am. I just think it would be easier if…"

She leaned in and kissed him softly on the lips. She slowly pulled away and whispered, "I'll be fine. Now go bag a grizzly for me."

He chuckled, "Sure thing my love. Just you be careful."

She smiled back at him and got out of the car. "I will, what kind of trouble could I get into here?"

He didn't respond to her question, but stated, "Alice will be here to pick you up in a couple of hours." With that Bella closed the door and headed for the library. As she pulled the door open she heard Edward's car drive away.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Done," Buffy exclaimed as she scanned the last book in her stack.

"Shh," The librarian, seated beside her, responded.

"Sorry Mrs. Torres," she whispered.

"Miss Summers, you have to remember that this is a library and people come in here for the quiet," she said, as she rose form her seat.

"I thought it was for the books," Buffy joked, under her breath.

Mrs. Torres sighed, "Listen, if you really don't want to be here, maybe you should just leave." Buffy looked at her in uncertainty. "I had another applicant who wanted the job as well, and frankly, Bernadette was a bit more enthusiastic than you were. But, I chose you because you were a bit more qualified. But if…"

"No, no," she interrupted her. "I love books! See!" She clutched a book to her chest and hugged it tightly, swinging back and forth. Mrs. Torres simply glared down at her, clearly not amused. "I'm sorry, I'll be serious now."

"See that you are," she replied. "Now, it's time for me to take my evening break. Do you think you'll be fine for thirty minutes alone?"

"Yes, I think I can hold down the fort."

"Ok then, as soon as I get back, you can go home." Buffy nodded and watched her head off to the small break room. Once the door closed behind her, Buffy turned back to the counter and the stack of books Mrs. Torres had left.

She sighed. After all that time practically living in the Sunnydale High School library, she never once thought she'd actually end up working in one. But at least it was something she knew she could handle. And with any luck, this library might provide a bit of research material; at least enough to suffice until Giles could make it into town on Friday with a fair amount of books that might prove useful, given the current situation.

She glanced at the clock. The gang would arrive shortly and as soon as she could leave, they had plans to go out and get a bite to eat before the three slayers of the bunch, Vi, Kennedy, and herself, would go out and patrol around town. There really wasn't much else they could do at this point, not until they could gather more information on the goings on in Seattle. They had to figure out if any of the vampires there had even TRIED to enter Forks, and if so, what kind of damage they have caused.

"What?!" A voice shouted from across the room, bringing her out of her thoughts. "I just got here!"

Buffy looked up to see a dark haired girl, sitting at one of the tables. She appeared to be in the middle of packing up her stuff. Beside her, stood a tall guy, who was looking very agitated. Clearly, he was the one that had shouted.

Buffy sighed again. She didn't want to get involved, but if these two didn't quiet down soon, she would have to. Some of the other patrons were starting to stare.

"Shh," the girl whispered to him.

"I will not be quiet," he shouted again.

Buffy cleared her throat loudly, to get their attention. It seemed to work because the two teens looked up at her. She shot them a very stern look, one that Giles would no doubt be proud of, and they both looked down quickly, in embarrassment. She watched as the guy pulled out the chair next to the girl and sat.

Buffy shook her head. They were still arguing, or at least he was arguing, she was pleading, but it was in hushed tones now. She turned back to her work.

She was just about to scan the 3rd book in the new stack, when she heard a familiar voice to her left, "I bet you're starting to feel right at home now, Buff." She looked to her side with a smile to see Xander along with her other closest friends.

"Hey Guys," she said quietly. After all, she had to set a good example.

"You ready to leave yet?" Willow asked.

She looked down at her watch. "Yeah, in a few, Mrs. Torres, the librarian, should be back from her break any minute actually.

"GRR!" the brown haired girl growled suddenly. They all looked in the direction of the noise.

"Someone getting a little frustrated with their homework, huh?" Kennedy asked.

"No," Buffy began to explain. "Those two are arguing about something. I had to shush them just a little bit ago."

"You didn't give them a stern talking to?" Willow chuckled.

Buffy laughed. "No, I'm no Giles, but I did stare them down and give them one of Giles' 'For God's sake, calm down' looks. He would have been very proud," she said with a smile.

"Goodbye Jake!" the girl said again. "It's been nice knowing you." Buffy was going to say something to them, but instead, they all watched as she got up from her seat and stormed out the door. The guy sat there momentarily stunned, then he too rose and followed after her.

"That was odd," said Vi.

"Yeah, not sure what that was about, but 'Jake' and whoever that girl was, better not come back in here, unless they can keep it down," Buffy said firmly.

"Bella," Dawn said suddenly.

"What was that?" she asked her.

"Bella, her name is Bella. I saw her at school. I walked to class with her boyfriend's sister."

Buffy had no time to respond, because she looked up to see Mrs. Torres, looking annoyed, and heading back to the counter now, back from her break. "Uh, I'll meet you guys out by the car."

They agreed and everyone filed out the door to wait. All silently hoping that Buffy wasn't going to lose her new job, on the first day, because they were there talking to her when she was supposed to be working.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Bella sighed and set her pen down on the table. She rubbed her tired wrist and glanced up at the clock on the wall. She had been working on her paper, nonstop, for almost two and a half hours now, and she was just about done. It was getting late, and she knew Charlie would be getting home from the station soon, and would no doubt, be hungry.

She began to pack up her things, knowing Alice would already be parked outside, and waiting to give her a ride home, as per Edward's request.

Suddenly she heard a voice beside her, making her jump.

"Hey, Bella." She looked up to see her best friend.

"Jake, what are you doing here?"

He chuckled, "It's nice to see you too Bells."

"Jake, answer me, what are you doing here?"

"Well, seeing as you bailed on me, I decided to come see you. Granted, we won't have as much fun as that bonfire at the beach is supposed to be, but hey, we can wing it."

"Jake, this report is important; it's worth a big portion of my grade. I told you this."

"You did, but seeing as a lot of the other kids from your school were going, I thought maybe you only said that to protect the bloodsucker. Hide the fact that he doesn't want you to see me."

"That's beside the point. I really DID need to finish this paper, I've been way behind."

"Then let's hang out. Come on, it's not too long of a drive back to La Push. The bonfire is only just starting now."  
"I can't go, I have to get home and make Charlie dinner," she explained.

"Screw that, call him up and have him head to La Push too. My dad's gonna be there."

"Jake, I can't. And you have to go."

"What?! I just got here!" He shouted angrily.

"Shh," she tried quieting him.

"I will not be quiet!" he very nearly shouted.

Someone cleared their throat across the room and they both turned to see the blonde woman behind the counter glaring at them. They both looked down in embarrassment.

Jake pulled out the seat next to Bella and sat. "Look," he said whispering. "I'm just trying to keep you safe, unlike the leech." He stated the last part bitterly. "Where is he anyway? Out picking off a few innocent hikers for dinner?"

"He's not like that Jake, and you know it," she said firmly. "But really, you have to go. No doubt Alice can't see me right now, with you here, and has called Edward, panicking. He's probably racing back here, right this moment."  
Jacob scoffed. "Let him come, I can handle him."

"Grr!" she growled in frustration. "Would you stop that?!"

"Stop what?"

"This stupid eagerness to fight; both of you do it and it's driving me mad."  
"There's nothing I can do Bella. We're enemies, always have been, always will be. Nothing is going to change that."  
She abruptly rose from her seat. "If that's the case, then goodbye Jacob, it's been nice knowing you." With that, she angrily grabbed her bag and stormed out the door without looking back. Slowly, the tears began to fall.

Once outside, she looked up to see Alice standing next to Edward's Volvo, looking anxious.

"What a relief!" Alice exclaimed, once she saw her. She rushed to her side and enveloped her in a hug. "You're ok!" She pulled her back and finally noticed the tears streaming down her cheeks. "Oh no, what's wrong? Are you hurt?" she asked anxiously.

Bella quickly wiped the tears from her eyes and took a deep breath. "Alice? What are you doing here?" she asked in disbelief. She wondered where Edward was.

"I'm picking you up of course, just like Edward asked me to."  
"But, didn't you lose sight of me for a bit, while I was inside?"  
"Bella wait," a male voiced shouted behind them. They both looked to see it was Jacob jogging over to them. He stopped a few feet away, trying to breath through his mouth to avoid the vampire stench.

"I had a hunch I would find you here dog," Alice said bitterly. "Just be glad I didn't call my brother when I lost sight of her."  
"What, are you afraid to take me on yourself?" Jacob challenged.

"Don't think I can't take you Jacob Black. I may be small, but I'm quick and much stronger than I look."

"Yeah, well…"

"STOP!" Bella shouted, stopping the two of them. "This is what I've been talking about. This whole rivalry thing has to stop! You are fighting like cat's and dogs!"

"Hey," Jacob said defensively. "I take offence to that!"  
"I don't," Alice said brightly. "Cats actually are really lovely creatures. The ancient Egyptians used to worship them."

"Yeah, you would know," Jacob said under his breath.

"Will you guys cut it out?"

"I'm sorry Bella," Alice said solemnly. "I'll try, I will."

Jacob let out a chuckle. Bella glared at him. "What? You're seriously going to believe that she wouldn't fight me if she had the chance?!"

Bella sighed. "I know she'll try, and that's all I'm asking for. And if you're going to have an attitude about it and won't try yourself, then I don't see how we'll be able to get along Jake."  
"Bella, I…" he began.  
"Don't Jake; you'll only make this tougher for me." She looked down at the ground, not wanting to see the heartache in his eyes. It was hard enough to get through this, but she really didn't see any other option. "If you change your mind, let me know. Otherwise, I don't see how our friendship could work." She turned to look at Alice. "Let's go."  
Without another word, they both turned and climbed into the Volvo.

Jacob just stood there, dumbstruck, as they drove off. He couldn't fathom how she could be so willing to throw their friendship away for a family of bloodsuckers.


	5. Fickle Allies

_Tonight, I'm going to start off by appologizing for the delay in updating. I fully intended to have this chapter up by Friday night, but today was my mom's birthday and we threw her a surprise birthday party yesterday. So this whole past week has been a lot of last minute planning and shopping to get ready for that. It was tiring, but well worth it to see the look on her face, that was priceless! So needless to say, I pretty much have had no chance to work on it at all, lol! I will say though, that I SHOULD have another update by the end of the week. I do have another party to help get ready for this coming saturday, oddly enough it's my dad's surprise party which is a whole long story about the two parties, lol, but anyways, there is more help for his, so I'm not too worried at this point._

_Ok, now onto the good stuff. I gotta give a shout out to my awsome reviewers: Gabriel666, TheAngelOfHope, cruz94, and CaMiJaYe! You guys are great! I really love the feedback! :) Also, thanks to my neice as well, J for Jenny, who DIDN'T post a review, but she told me over the phone cause we were talking when she was reading it._

_Gotta do a big shout-out to my awsome nephew, whom I just realized this past weekend is my reviewer raised eyebrow. Had I know it was you dude, I would have been singing your praises this whole time! I love ya dude! :) You are the best nephew anyone could ask for!_

_Also wanna thank the new people who have gotten hooked on this story and have added it AND my account in general to their alerts._

_I know I've said it before, but all the reviews and alert adds keep me motivated to write. It's an amazing feeling to know someone enjoyed my writting so much that they want to read more. :)_

_Ok, now without further adu, here it is, ch.5! I hope you all enjoy it! I dedicate this chapter to my mom, in honor of her birthday. I LOVE YOU MOM! YOU ARE TOTALLY RAD! ;)_

_P.S. Reviews warm my heart as much as Edward's crooked smile does!_

_**I do NOT own the characters of Buffy or Twilight, just the very talented Joss Whedon and Stephenie Meyer do.**_

**

* * *

****Chapter 5- Fickle Allies **

Dawn awoke the next morning, dreading the day. She climbed out of her bed and pulled back the curtain to glare back at the gloomy world around her. However, she was taken aback with surprise to see that it was actually a bright and sunny day. Her attitude suddenly changed to that of hope. If the sun could break through the clouds and push back some of the dreariness of this town, then maybe she could as well.

Eager to soak-up some of the sunshine, she quickly got dressed and flew down the stairs.

"Someone seems chipper this morning," Buffy said amusingly. She set a bowl of dry cereal and some milk on the table as Dawn pulled out a chair and sat. "Could it be that this town is already starting to grow on you?"

Dawn glared at her sister, "Don't get too excited, I'm just happy to see the sun is all."

Buffy sighed, "Oh come on Dawn, it's not that bad here, is it? I mean, you did say you met those girls at school yesterday." Dawn rolled her eyes. "I was thinking about what you said, and I think you SHOULD go with them to the movies Friday."

"WHAT?!" she asked alarmingly.

"Now don't give me that look Dawnie. Just hear me out."

"Don't you remember me telling you how annoyingly persistent they were?"

"Yes, but you know the saying, 'if you can't beat them, join them'?"

"You did hear me say that they were Cordelia wannabes too, right?" she said in frustration.

"Look Dawn, I'm not entirely sure how long we are going to be here, and I just think that it would be nice if you had a few people your age to spend time with."

"I don't mind hanging out with Xander," she protested. "He's taking me for a drive around town this weekend to find stuff to do, though I doubt we'll find anything in this stupid town."

"Xander is a Watcher now. You can't expect him to have a whole lot of free time just for you. We're trying our hardest to figure out exactly what's going on in Seattle. What's making these vampires go on such a huge killing spree all of a sudden? The sooner we figure it out, the sooner we can put a stop to it." Dawn pouted. "Ok, look at it this way, maybe when you go to the movies there will be other people there too that you'll get to meet. Maybe some better people to hang out with, then you can dump the Cordettes."

She sighed, "Fine, if I have to. But it doesn't mean I have to have fun." Dawn grabbed her spoon and began to dig into her cereal.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Bella sat at her kitchen table and looked out at the bright sunny morning. It hadn't been a surprise to her that the sun would be out today; she had a very reliable weather person to keep her informed.

Even though she missed the warmth, it was days like these that made her a little sad, knowing that two of her favorite people in the world would not be going to school with her. She glanced at the clock on the wall and decided it was time to head on out. If Edward was driving she wouldn't have to worry about getting to school on time, he drove extremely fast. But today she would need to take her truck, meaning it would take her longer than a few measly minutes to get there.

She grabbed her backpack on her way out the door and locked it behind her. She turned to head down the steps and did a double-take at the silver Volvo parked in her driveway.

Bella rushed over and climbed into the passenger seat. "What are you doing here?"

"Well it's nice to see you too Bella," Alice said with a grin.

She laughed. "No, I mean, it's just that, you said the sun would be out today, so I just naturally assumed I'd drive myself to school since neither you nor Edward were going."

"Just because the sun is out doesn't mean I can't drive my best friend to school at least, right?"

"He asked you to take me, didn't he?"

"Well…"  
Bella sighed, "Edward is being a little overprotective, don't you think?"

"He just wants you to be safe Bella, that's all." Alice said as she reversed out of the driveway and headed back onto the street to head towards school.

"I know that, and I love him for it, but the odds of any vampires coming after me at school, is very slim. The Volturi aren't going to be happy if any vampires are seen walking around in the sun, sparkling all over the place," she laughed. "Besides, how am I supposed to get home? Aren't you going hunting tonight?"

"Yes, but Edward said that he's going to stop by and get you after school. He said to meet him over at the edge of the woods behind the school; he's going to wait for you there. Then he'll escort you home."

"He's on his way back already?"  
"Yes, apparently they got very lucky in their hunting. The Mountain Lion population in Wyoming was much larger than anticipated. They should be finished shortly."

Bella smiled at the thought that she'd get to be alone with Edward again, and so soon. She hated being away from him and she knew that when they had to be apart, it made him anxious as well. She wondered if she could persuade him to make a pit stop at the meadow on their way to her house. She turned and looked out the window to see that they had arrived at school already. "Thanks for the ride Alice, good luck hunting tonight."

"Thanks, and just to let you know, Mrs. Brubaker is giving a pop quiz today, so be prepared."

"Well, I guess that means Edward is going to have to make up another history test," Bella laughed as she climbed out of the car. "Bye Alice! Have fun!" she shouted as she closed the door and watched her drive away.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Buffy pulled the car up in front of the school and looked over at Dawn. She was still sitting there pouting, as she had been since breakfast. Buffy sighed. "Are you ever going to start talking to me again?"

Dawn simply glared at her without saying a word.

"Look, like I said before, it would be nice if you could make some friends here. You are surrounded by mystical forces every day; I'd love it if you could have some sense of normalcy in your life."

Dawn looked back at her to see the worry in Buffy's eyes. True, she was only trying to help; she was her big sister after all.

She thought of Alice, the girl who had helped her with the soda machine the day before. She was really perky, but she was friendly enough. "Ok, I'll try," she said, wondering if she might be able to take Alice up on her offer to go shopping this weekend instead. "But if I get a better offer by Friday, I'm taking it."

"DAWN!" a girl's voice suddenly shouted as she was starting to climb out of the car. She looked up to see the wannabes running towards her.

"And that would be them," she told her sister wryly as she shut the door.

"Dawn, OMG, you so totally missed it!" Samantha exclaimed.

"E.C.'s sister was here!" shouted Brittany.

"A.C. dropped B.S. off today, but A.C. and E.C. never come to school when it's sunny, they go camping with their family!" Amanda added eagerly.

"And they can just get away with it?" Dawn asked, not even acknowledging their excitement.

"That's entirely NOT the point," Samantha said rudely. She suddenly noticed Buffy sitting in the car next to Dawn. She walked around her and stuck her hand through the window. "Hi, you're Buffy right? I'm Samantha, Cordelia's cousin," she said happily, shaking her hand. Dawn wondered if she was unstable.

Buffy was surprised by her sudden change in mood. "Oh, hi, it's nice to meet you." She looked over at Dawn. "I get off work early today, so I'll be back to pick you up after."

Dawn glared daggers at her sister, clearly angry that she was just going to leave her there with THEM. "Bye," she said reluctantly. And with that Buffy pulled away from the curb and headed off to the library.

Samantha turned back to Dawn. "Ok, so back to E.C., if he didn't drop B.S. off today, that's got to count for something, right?" she asked hopefully.

Dawn mentally groaned as she was whisked away towards the school entrance, being pelted with random questions about whether or not she believed E.C. was going to finally dump B.S. and take Sam to the P., or go pee or whatever it was they were going on about. The abbreviations were really starting to make her head hurt.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Bella walked into the cafeteria and headed straight for the usual table. Angela, Ben, and Mike were already seated there.

"No Edward or Alice today huh?" Angela asked as she approached the table and sat.

"Nope, they're off camping with the rest of the family," she said calmly. Bella was used to this lie by now; so much so that even SHE almost believed it herself.

"I'm surprised you don't just go along with them," Mike said bitterly, under his breath.

Bella pretended she hadn't heard him. It was always the same. On the rare sunny days that Alice and Edward missed school, Mike would start out moody, but soon realize that with Edward gone, the competition went with it. She mentally began to count down in her mind. "5…4…3…2…1…"

"So what are you doing tonight Bella?" he asked suddenly. "Do you want to go see that new movie, 'Never Think'?"

"Ooo, is that the one with Robert Pattinson? I thought it didn't come out until Friday," Angela said excitedly, attempting to try and take some of the focus off Bella.

Ben playfully glared at her. "What am I, yesterday's news?"

"Nope, you are even better than Rob, he's got nothing on you," she said playfully. Ben kissed her on the cheek in response and they both laughed.

"What about it?" Mike asked again.

"I actually have a lot of homework to catch up on Mike, I'm sorry."

"Yeah, I guess I do too," he said reluctantly, but perked up suddenly, "We could work on our homework together."

Bella sighed; she hated having to go through this routine every single time Edward was away. She glanced around the room quickly, trying to find an excuse to get out of it this time, when she spotted the new girl across the room. She appeared to be looking around for a place to sit. "Excuse me guys, I'll be right back," she said, rising from her seat.

As she walked towards her, she tried to mentally rack her brain for the girl's name. Alice had said it was Dawn, didn't she? As she got closer, she noticed her begin to walk in the other direction. "It's Dawn, right?" she asked once she approached her. The girl jumped slightly, clearly not having seen her coming over. Bella prayed that Alice was right, and the two Summers girls did not pose a threat to the Cullens, because she was about to do something she was sure Edward would not approve of.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Dawn sighed as she walked into the cafeteria. The wannabes were already eagerly waving her over to sit with them again, and she mentally cringed at the thought of having to be subjected to this again.

She had secretly hoped that somehow Alice had made it to school finally, just late, and asked her to sit at her table instead. She also hoped that if Alice really wasn't there, she could sneak in the cafeteria undetected and be able to sit alone, but it seemed neither plan was going to happen today. She took a glance over towards the table she had seen Alice walk to the day before, and found that she was indeed absent today.

Reluctantly, Dawn began to walk over and join the wannabes.

"It's Dawn right?" a voice asked, surprising her. Dawn turned around to face a girl with long brown hair. She recognized her as the one the girls referred to as B.S.

"Uh, yeah," she replied hesitantly.

"Hi, I'm Bella," she said, holding out her hand. "You met my best friend Alice yesterday."

Dawn balanced the tray in one hand and shook Bella's with the other. Could it be she wasn't going to be subjected to the wannabes anymore today? She stole a quick glance back at their table to see Amanda and Brittany looking over in awe and Samantha looking somewhat angry at the whole situation. As far as Samantha was concerned, Bella was not the competition, but the enemy.

"Did you want to come sit with my friends and me?"

"Uh, sure," Dawn said in confusion, not really sure if she was believing what was happening. She followed Bella as she led her back to the table where three other people were seated.

"Hey guys, this is Dawn, she's a friend of Alice," Bella introduced.

Dawn smiled at the thought of having already made an actual friend here in town. "Hi everyone."

"That's Angela and her boyfriend Ben, and that's Mike."

"Have a seat Dawn!" Angela said happily.

"Yeah, grab a chair, we don't bite," Ben added jokingly. Dawn was sure of that, and laughed to herself at the thought that if they had been the type to bite, they wouldn't be sitting here in the middle of the well lit and open cafeteria.


	6. Questionable Events

_Ok, once again, I wanna thank my reviewers buffytvslayer and my wonderful niece J for Jenny, you both rock out loud! Also want to thank the newcomers who have just added my story or my account in general to their alert lists. :) You guys are great!_

_As you can see, I made it with this weeks update on time, so yay for me for getting back on track! LOL!_

_The plans for my dad's party are well under way and everything is pretty much set. It's great to have help when planning surprise parties, lol! Anyways, this chapter I dedicate to him because it's his birthday Saturday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD! I LOVE YOU!_

_Also, for those interested, I've added a couple of links on my profile. There is my Twitter account and my facebook as well. Both of which I update frequently. :) If you send me a friend request on facebook, please be sure to let me know that you've read my story, otherwise I'll probably think it's spam and deny you. I don't like spam, and show of hands, who here does? *looks around room* yeah, that's what I thought, lol!_

_Well, I hope you all enjoy this chapter!_

_P.S. Reviews make me about as excited as the New Moon clips from Comic Con did today!_

_**I do NOT own the characters of Buffy or Twilight, just the very talented Joss Whedon and Stephenie Meyer do.**_

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Chapter 6- Questionable Events

Dawn walked out of her last class, tired and eager to go home. She despised math and her teacher, Mr. Westbrook even more. He talked in a very somber tone and very slowly, making everyone in the room yawn. When he caught them yawning, he'd get angry and yell, needless to say, his class was NOT a barrel of monkeys.

She was just about to descend the stairs to the parking lot when she stumbled and tripped. She tried to stop her self from falling, but failed, and landed face down on the middle concrete step. She could hear laughter as she sat up and huffed in annoyance. She turned her head to see why she had slipped and saw a guy sitting on the top step chuckling. He looked familiar, but she could not understand why.

"What the heck are you doing sitting in the middle of the stairway?" she asked angrily.

He laughed again. "Actually, I'm sitting up against the wall. Maybe you should keep an eye out and watch where you're walking," he joked.

Dawn groaned as she got up from the floor. She dusted off her pants and looked back at him, only to be looking at his feet. "When had he stood up?" she wondered. She shifted her gaze upwards and towards his face. He was quite tall, even if he hadn't been standing a few steps above her, and had short dark black hair. She suddenly remembered where she had seen him from before. It was from the library last night. He was the one they had all seen arguing with Bella. If she wasn't so annoyed with him at that moment, she would have actually thought he was rather cute. She was about to yell at him for causing and laughing at her misfortune when she heard a worried voice nearby.

"Dawn, are you alright?" Bella asked as she rushed over to help her with her books that were still on the ground. A few people were squeezing by, not even pausing to help, no doubt more anxious to get home.

"Yeah, no thanks to him!" she said, pointing at the guy above them.

Bella turned to see who she was talking about and looked startled, having only just realized who it was. "Why do you always seem to pop in at the worst moments?"

"Relax Bella, I come in peace," he said, holding his hands in front of him, as if indicating he was unarmed.

"You know him," Dawn said, more as a statement than a question.

"That would be my EX-best friend Jacob Black, he doesn't even go to this school." Bella glared daggers at him.

"I came to apologize."

"Well apology NOT accepted," she replied roughly. "And if you know what's good for you Jake, you better leave now." She took Dawn's arm and began to pull her down the steps. "Come on, let's go."

Dawn was slightly confused but began to tag along anyways. What choice did she have, she was being dragged along against her will.

"Bella wait…"  
"Edward is already on his way," she said over her shoulder. She was getting rather annoyed at his persistent nature.

"He's coming to pick you up?" Dawn asked. "I thought he went camping with his family."

Jacob laughed right behind them and they both jumped, unaware that he had followed them. "Is that what his story is? And people actually buy it?"

"You'd better keep your mouth shut Jake, if he were to do anything to you right now, at this point, I could care less."

"And what happened to the whole 'let's just get along' Bella?"

Dawn was bewildered at the whole exchange and began to feel awkward. She glanced around the parking lot hoping to find a distraction. She found one, Buffy was at the curb, standing by the car and waiting for her. She was looking at the three of them with uncertainty. "There's my sister, I gotta go."

Bella let go of her arm and let her go.

"Hey Dawnie, how was school?" Buffy asked as her sister approached.

"Fairly well, but really odd just recently," she replied as she made to grab the door handle.

Buffy stopped her. "Is that the same girl from the library last night?" she asked.

Dawn turned and nodded. "Yeah."

"And the guy?"

"Yep."

"Are they still arguing?"

Dawn sighed. "Yeah, she seems annoyed that he showed up here today. She said he doesn't even go to this school."

Buffy nodded. "Well…" she began, but stopped as she saw something out of the corner of her eye. She turned her head to look in the direction of the woods on the left side of the school. She squinted against the sun and tried to focus on the trees. She was sure she had seen something move beyond them. Something that seemed to glisten or was just bright in general.

"What is it Buffy?" Dawn asked when her sister didn't finish her sentence.

"I don't know. I thought I saw something. Maybe I'm seeing things," she said and looked back at her sister who stood before her with a worried look on her face.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"There's my sister, I gotta go," Dawn said abruptly.

Bella let go of her arm, glad that she was going to walk away. She wasn't sure if Jake really would say anything to Dawn, but she had to be careful. The Cullen Family's lives were at stake. No one could find out about them, and the vampire community as a whole, if they did, then the Volturi would waste no time in seeking justice.

Bella turned back to the guy beside her. "Look Jake, I meant what I said last night. If you can't at least try to get along with the Cullens, then I see no reason we can continue to be friends. They are my extended family now, and I care for them deeply, as much as I care for you, but if this tension continues, I'm just going to keep feeling like I'm being split in two. I'm Switzerland."

"You're what?" Jacob asked confusingly. "How are you like a country in western Europe?"

"Never mind," she replied. She stole a glance towards the woods. She wasn't positive, but she thought she could make out Edward's silhouette beyond the trees. She knew he probably would be angry, more so at Jacob for even showing up, so she knew she better get to him quick to calm him down before he did anything stupid. "I gotta go Jake."  
"No you don't," he insisted. "Come with me, I brought my bike. We can go hang out on the Rez'. Or I can take you home instead if you want."

She shook her head. "Like I said Jake, unless you can try to get along with them, there really is no point." She sadly turned away from him and began to head towards the woods, knowing Edward would be there waiting for her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"So what's up for dinner tonight?" Dawn asked as she climbed in the passenger side.

"Food," Buffy said with a smile, getting in behind the wheel.

"Yeah, but what kind?" Dawn asked.

"Good food," Buffy laughed.

"You're so annoying," Dawn sighed as she sunk into her seat.

Buffy stopped laughing abruptly and Dawn looked up to see her sister looking towards the woods again.

"What do you see?" she asked as she too turned her head to look. She squinted in at the edge of the forest and saw a figure standing just beyond the edge of the trees, under the shade. "Oh, that's Edward, he's Bella's boyfriend."

"I don't think so," she said as she slowly began to climb out of the car.

"Buffy, where are you going? I said that's Edward."  
"No it's not, at least not anymore."

"You don't think he's a vamp do you?" Dawn laughed at the absurdity of the question. She stopped laughing when she realized her sister wasn't laughing with her. "That's stupid. I just saw him yesterday. He was in school all day."

Buffy shook her head, "That's impossible." She watched as a smug smile crept onto his lips. She shifted her gaze to see what he was smiling at. Bella was walking away from the parking lot, and towards him. Buffy slammed her door and began to walk around the front of the car.  
Dawn quickly got out too. "Buffy wait," she pleaded as she watched her sister start to head towards Edward. She ran after her, begging her to slow down. "Buffy stop!" she shouted. A few people looked in their direction, but shrugged and went back to what they were doing.

Buffy ran past Bella who stopped walking once she heard Dawn's cries. She looked between Dawn and Buffy and back at Edward who turned and ran back into the woods. Bella was confused. Dawn caught up to her and stopped running, clearly out of breath.

"What's going on?"

"My sister just wanted to say hi," Dawn breathed. She doubted Bella would buy it.

"So she chased him into the woods?"

"Actually, Buffy is convinced Edward is a vampire," Dawn said hesitantly.

"She what?!" Bella exclaimed in shock. She glanced around quickly to make sure no one was within earshot. There was no need, most of the other students had already gotten in their cars to head home and the few stragglers were far enough away not to have heard. Bella looked back at the woods again, just in time to see Buffy run in, going right by where Edward had been standing just seconds before. She turned her attention back to Dawn. How did she know? True, Bella had known for awhile now, but it had taken her awhile to come to that realization, and part of it had been with help from Jacob. She wasn't sure if she would have been able to reach that conclusion on her own if he hadn't told her those Quileute legends that day on the beach.

Dawn frowned. "I know it sounds crazy," she said, trying to calm Bella down. She was fairly positive Buffy was wrong, and she didn't want her to freak out about something so stupid. "But my sister is crazy, we just try to humor her," she hesitantly laughed. She stopped abruptly as something had suddenly occurred to her. "Oh please don't tell Alice about this," she said, grabbing at Bella's sleeve.

Bella tried to pull away. Buffy was right about Edward being a vampire, so she wasn't really crazy, but it appeared that Dawn had to be, with the way she was acting. "What?!"

"She was nice enough to help me out with the soda machine yesterday and invite me to go shopping with her. She's really a sweet person, I don't want to lose her as a friend because my sister is a little nuts. She's basically the only normal friend that I have."

Bella tried to hold back a snigger at the irony of the situation, but failed.

"What's so funny?"

Bella just shook her head, trying to hold back her laughter.

"You're gonna tell her, aren't you?" she asked sadly. "She's going to think I'm a total psycho. Crazy by association or something."

Bella knew she had to say something to calm this girl's fears. If anything, Alice would be thrilled at the notion that Dawn knew. It would make hanging out with her a lot easier if she knew why she couldn't go on shopping trips with her on sunny days. She almost didn't tell her, it wasn't really her secret, but being the situation, Edward was probably trying to explain things to Buffy right at that moment. That is if she hadn't already caught up to him and it had come to blows. Her stomach churned at the thought, Buffy would be a goner. "Alice isn't going to think you're crazy Dawn, just happy that you know."

"Know what?" Dawn asked hesitantly. She wasn't sure what she was getting at.

"Your sister isn't crazy either, Edward really is a vampire, and so is Alice."

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_Sorry guys, I totally had to leave you all with that cliffhanger. I've had this chapter mapped out for awhile and always knew I was going to end it this way. When I'm writting, if inspiration for another portion of the story comes to me, I write it out so I won't forget it. Since about the time I began ch. 2 I've had this last part written, lol!_

_So what do you guys think? ;)_


	7. Knowledgeable Truths

_Ok guys, please don't hate me for the delay in updating. I swear I have a really really good excuse. I was all set and excited to upload Ch.7 on Thursday night. I was thinking yay! I can update a day early! Well, to my surprise, when I went to get online to do so, I could not get onto the internet. I tried a ton of stuff to get it working again, but to no avail. Turns out, our router pretty much died. I called our internet provider Friday morning and they said they'd send us a new one and should be here no later than Monday. So TA DAH! It arrived! I just now got it hooked up, as you can see, and happy to say, here is Ch. 7! YAY! LOL! It was kind of a blessing in dusguise though, cause with the time I had on my hands, I reread and reread this chapter and decided to make it a little longer. I ended up only adding another page with it typed out on Word, but I didn't want to include too much in this chapter because of what I have planned for ch. 8, which is about halfway done at this point. :)_

_Ok, now onto the good stuff, as always, I wanna start out by thanking my wonderful and fabulous reviewers: Master Of The Boot, CaMiJaYe, sweetyjg, eagle219406, and buffytvslayer. You guys are the best! Reading those reviews really kept me motivated to write this week! So thank you so very much for that! :)_

_I also want to continue to make a shout out to those who have added either my story, or my account in general to their alerts and/or faves. It means a lot to me to know you are all anxiously awaiting more!_

_One quick thing as well I want to add. A hello to my wonderfully talented neice J for Jenny. She has been a great help in writting these stories because I know if I get stuck, I can turn to her and she will help me defeat that troublesome demon called: Writer's Block! LOL! Also, like I said, she's very talented. If anyone is interested in pure Buffy fiction, she is the one to read. She's currently working on one called My Sweet Escape and it's about Jenny coming back. It's really really good. In fact, as soon as I upload this, I'm gonna read the next chapter that she added the other day, when I was sans internet. I can't wait to find out what happens next! If you wanna check it out, here is the link: fanfiction .net/s/5169896/1/My_Sweet_Escape_

_Ok, and now, without further ado, here it is, Ch.7! I hope you enjoy!_

_P.S. Reviews make me feel like I'm the spider monkey on Edward's back! :)_

___**I do NOT own the characters of Buffy or Twilight, just the very talented Joss Whedon and Stephenie Meyer do.**_

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**Chapter 7- Knowledgeable Truths**

Buffy took off running after Edward. "Damn he's quick," she thought to herself. "But so am I."

Despite Dawn's attempts to stop her from going after him, she was certain she was right, and Dawn wasn't. Any number of things could have happened between the time she saw him at school yesterday, and now.

As she continued her pursuit, she tried to fathom how it could have slipped past her. If it was true that the last time Dawn had seen Edward at school was the day before, then his death had to have occurred that night. She had done patrols every night since they had arrived in town, and last night with Kennedy and Vi as well. Could they be slipping? Had a vampire fallen through the cracks somehow? She wasn't sure.

Suddenly, something else occurred to her, as she ran straight through a small stream in the middle of the forest. If a vampire had gotten into town and bitten Edward, how did the transformation happen so quickly? She had a hard time believing it was possible. As it was, it was only Wednesday, just hours since then. She could only remember the changes taking weeks, days even, but never hours. Something about this fact unnerved her. Was it possible she was dealing with another creature all together?

She began to slow her speed down, having now lost sight of him. She stopped at the edge of a clearing bathed in sunlight and glanced around. "Where am I?" she wondered. She reached into her pocket to take out Mr. Pointy, but only found a cross. "Damn it," she said under her breath, realizing that she must have left her stake on the dresser when she was rushing to get ready that morning.

She heard a twig snap behind her and she jumped, startled at the unexpected noise. She held the cross tightly and quickly turned around to see someone standing behind her.

"He's gorgeous," she thought. "No Buffy, concentrate, no more vamps guys for you."

A crooked grin spread across his face, almost as if he was laughing at her thoughts.

He knew there was no way to get out of this unless he told the truth. She had already seen too much. "You know what I am. But I assure you, I won't harm you," he said reassuringly.

"Yeah, like I've never heard that before."

"I'm different."

Buffy laughed. "They all say that. What, do you have a soul too?"

He chuckled. "Bella would choose to argue that point yes."

She was confused. Was this guy for real? She quickly held up the cross, as he took a step closer to her.

Edward chuckled again. "You're seriously kidding me with that right?" Buffy looked confused. "Stupid stereotypes." He added under his breath. Before she could realize what was happening, he had grabbed the wooden cross out of her hand.

To her astonishment he simply held it tightly in his own. She wondered how it was possible. Why hadn't his hand started smoking from something so holy touching it? She dug deeper in her pockets, searching for something else that might help. Her hand clasped a small glass bottle. "Holy water," she thought to herself.

"It may be a sunny day, but I'm not really that hot at the moment," he said with a smirk.

She hesitated. How did he know? She took the bottle out and looked up to see him smiling, almost laughing at the little bottle of liquid. She opened it and held it aloft. Edward continued to look skeptical. Was it possible that he didn't know what it was? She quickly uncorked it and threw the water at him, hitting him in the face.

She watched in surprise as he simply used his sleeve to wipe it away, as if it were nothing. The holy water had no affect either. "I took a bath this morning thank you, besides, I don't sweat," he laughed.

She was getting frightened. Nothing seemed to deter him. "What on earth are you?" she asked.

"Exactly what you think, but as I tried to explain earlier, before you got me wet, was that I'm different. My whole family is actually. Our kind does not hunt humans. We only feed on the blood of animals."

"Family?" she asked bewildered.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"What do you mean they're vamps?" Dawn asked.

Bella could tell she was going to have a tough time explaining it to her. Minutes were quickly ticking by and she wondered where Buffy and Edward were. She dug into her backpack for the emergency cell phone Edward had given her not days before. Dawn looked on as she hit the speed dial.

She heard a voice pick-up after the first ring. "What's wrong?" Alice asked anxiously.

Bella looked around to make sure no one was within earshot; there wasn't, but Jacob had begun to approach them. She glared once more at him.

"Bella, what's happening? I can't see you or Edward!"

She sighed, "That would be because a very annoying werewolf is nearby."

"It figures," Alice added bitterly.

"Wait, werewolf?!" Dawn asked, looking back and forth between Bella and Jacob.

"Thanks a lot for letting the cat out of the bag Bella," Jacob said incredulously.

Bella looked at him. "More like dog." He looked back at her, startled by her words. He was used that kind of talk from the Cullens, but his best friend?

"Bella, what's happening?!" Alice asked again, bringing Bella back to the situation at hand.

"We may have a slight problem. Buffy knows what you guys are, well, Edward at least. And she just chased him into the woods."

"She what?!" she asked shockingly. "Wait, that must be what I saw, why her and Dawn were in front of our house in my vision. What about Dawn? Does she know too?"  
"Yeah, she's right here with me."

"Ok, can you see Edward and Buffy from where you're at?"

"No," Bella said with an uneasy chuckle. "That's why I called you. I was hoping that…" She stopped short when she heard murmuring on the other end.

"I don't think going after her would be advisable, she's only human," Alice said in response.

"What's going on? Who's that?" Bella asked anxiously.

"Emmett wanted to know if he should rush out there and help Edward. But Buffy's just human; I'm more concerned for her safety than Edward's. Not that he would hurt anyone, he's more of a pacifist, and…"

"Alice! Stay focused!" she interrupted her.

"Oh, right. Ok, no I can't see them, they keep changing their minds; I think I see that clearing in the woods that you and Edward go to sometimes. So they must be around there."

Bella smiled. "Thanks Alice, I'll head that way, see if I can find them."

"Bella, just be careful. I can't see anything at all now. That dog might be going with you."

"I'll try to ditch him, but I'm not making any promises," Bella said as she hung up the phone. She looked back at Dawn who was still watching Jacob in confusion.

"What are you staring at?!" He asked angrily, finally fed up.

Dawn shook her head, trying to clear the confusion in her mind. "Werewolves AND Vampires? See, I told Buffy that this town sucks!"

Bella rolled her eyes and stuffed the cell phone back in her backpack. She turned and began to head towards the forest.

"Wait!" Jacob called, stopping her. "I heard what that leech said. If you're going after them, I'm coming too. If there's a chance he could hurt someone then…"  
"You think he's going to try and hurt Buffy?! That he'll try to fight?" Dawn asked alarmingly.

Bella shook her head. "Don't listen to him. Edward would never hurt anyone. I'm sure he's just trying to talk to her, explain everything." Jacob laughed and Bella glared at him.

"Actually, If Edward is as good of a person, well vamp, as you say he his, then I'm more concerned about Edward at this point," Dawn said warily.

"What do you mean?" Bella asked.

"Uh, well, my sister isn't just the new librarian in town, she's also, well…a slayer."

"A what?" both Bella and Jacob asked confusingly.

Dawn scratched the back of her head. "Uh, yeah, you see, she's a slayer, like a vampire slayer? She hunts and kills vampires."

Jacob smiled happily. "Finally someone with some sense around here!"

Bella smacked him with the back of her hand, doing no damage to him, but wincing in pain herself. She had already forgotten what had happened the last time she tried punching him. "You are such a jerk Jake!"

"Well excuse me for stating the obvious. It seems everyone on the Rez are the only ones who understand how dangerous they are! There are no good vampires."

"Uh, can I butt in here?" Dawn piped up. Bella and Jacob both turned to face her. "There is record of two that I know of, both reformed. Both having dated my sister in the past."

Bella looked confused, but turned to Jacob again, "See!"

"Wait…just wait. She dated them?" he shuddered at the thought. Dawn simply nodded in response. "Ok then, if that's true, then what happened? Why aren't they dating anymore?"

"Well, the latest is dead. He died saving the world when Sunnydale, the town we came from, got sucked into a hell mouth."

"And the other?"

"He moved to L.A." Jacob continued to look at her, encouraging her to say more. "He moved there to protect her from himself, but it's a very long story that makes no sense when you look at it from his point of view because he really wouldn't hurt her or me, or any of us, and besides that, it wasn't Angel who tried to rape her, that was Spike, but then he…"  
"Enough!" Bella shouted stopping her. "I don't want a recap as if this was a television drama. While we are standing here talking, Buffy and Edward could be fighting at this moment, and I for one am not going to just stand here and wait to find out later what happens." With that she turned from the two and headed back towards the forest.

Dawn and Jacob simply looked at each other and followed after her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Family?" Buffy asked again when Edward didn't respond.

"Is there an echo out here? Yes, I said family."

"I don't believe you."

Edward grinned, "Ok, so technically we aren't related, but they are still my family."

"No, I mean I don't believe that you don't hunt humans. Why were you watching Bella if you didn't want to hunt her?"

Edward chuckled, "I know, I was just trying to lighten the mood. You are far too tense at the moment. And seeing as my brother is not here to help with that, I am forced to try to do it on my own." She looked skeptical. "Look, I know there is no way for me to truly prove to you that I am not lying; only my actions can show that. Mine and Bella's situation is complicated. I would never hurt her or another human being. You are just going to have to trust me."

"I don't, and now you're the one who's going to see the light" she said as she ran at him and kicked him squarely in the chest, knocking him backward toward and into the clearing.

"NOOOOO!!!!!!!!" a female voice shouted behind Buffy. She turned to see Dawn rushing forward, through the trees, accompanied by Bella and the guy from earlier.

Dawn got to her, and was out of breath. "What's wrong?" she asked her sister worriedly.

"Edward is a vamp, but he's ok!"

"What?"

"Bella just told me, he and his sister are and they are not evil!"

"Are you sure?" Dawn nodded. "Oh crap!" Buffy looked over at Bella sadly. "I'm sorry." She wasn't watching them, but looking past them and into the clearing.

She smiled and walked past them. The two sisters watched in amazement as they saw her enter the clearing and approach Edward, who had not burst into flames but was now standing, dusting off his clothes. His skin sparkled brightly in the sunlight. He held Bella close.

"What the?!" Buffy and Dawn both said at the same time.

"But how did you…?" Buffy began to ask.

"Manage to not see that one coming?" Edward said curtly. He looked down at the muddy footprint on his shirt. "Alice is not going to be happy about this," he added with a chuckle.

"You know she's just gonna buy you another shirt Edward," said Bella. "She rarely lets you guys wear the same things twice, you told me so yourself."

"True," he agreed.

"Uh, excuse me, can I say something?" Buffy butted in.

Edward looked at her. "You want to know why I didn't burst into flames when I fell into the sunlight correct?

"Uh, well… yeah," she said surprisingly.

"It is another myth. The same kind that makes one believe that the holy water or the cross would have any affect on me."

Bella turned her attention toward Buffy again. "Wait, so you really were gonna try and kill him?!" she said angrily.

"He's a freaking vampire! What do you expect?"

"I know he is, but he's good!"

Jacob, who was tired of standing on the sidelines, interrupted the argument by saying, "Hey, can I add something here?"

"NO!" Bella, Edward, and Buffy all shouted at once.

"Hey, I was just gonna say that I agree with this Buffy chick. If she wants to slay vamps, be my guest. At least then we won't be breaking the treaty."

"Jake?!" Bella asked alarmingly.

"Who the hell is he?" Buffy asked Dawn.

"He's Jacob Black, Bella's friend from the library, the one she was arguing with," answered Dawn. "Oh, and he's a werewolf."

"Sheesh, is nothin' a secret around here anymore?!" Jacob shouted annoyingly.

Edward looked at Bella, "He went to the library last night? Why didn't you or Alice say anything?"

"First of all, she didn't want you to have to come home early from hunting because she figured that's who was there, why she couldn't see me anymore. And secondly, you just got back, how was I supposed to tell you that? Besides, I was perfectly safe Edward," she pleaded.

Buffy put her hand over her eyes in frustration. "Ok, can everyone STOP talking for like five minutes so my head can stop spinning here? I'm getting a headache."

"Edward, maybe we should get Carlisle," Bella suggested.

He nodded. "I think that might be very advisable Bella, thank you. Yes, he will know what to do about this situation."

"Who's Carlisle?" asked Dawn.

"He's my father, well, he has been since he transformed me. I think Bella is right. We should head to our home so we can speak with him. He should be able to make some sense of all this."

"Hey, I'm not going anywhere with you blood sucker," Jacob said angrily.

"Then you're not invited Jake!"

"What happened to trying to get along Bells?"

"QUIET!" Dawn said suddenly, shocking everyone with her forceful tone. "I say we all go there and figure this out. I'm with Buff, my brain is hurting and all this arguing is giving me tummy rumblings."

"Dawn, I don't think…" tried Buffy.

"Call the gang to come with if you're worried Buff. I don't see any other way that figuring this all out is gonna work."

"Fine," she said, finally conceding. "I'm calling the gang then." She took her cell out of her back pocket to call Xander.

"And I'll call Carlisle and let him know that we are on the way," said Edward, already with his cell phone up to his ear.


	8. Fantastical Myths

_Ok, first off, can I say how much I am jumping for joy at this moment? FINALLY I could upload. Not sure if any of you have been trying to log into your accounts recently, if you have, you might have had the same issue as me with being unable to. Friday night, when I got home from work, I went straight to the computer to upload, but I couldn't get onto my account here. Frustrated I left it for Saturday. Last night, I get on, am able to log in, but can't upload. I swear, I tried for llke over 4 hours. After working a full day and messing with this till 2 in the morning, I was beat and went to bed. I tried again this morning, no such luck. Went out with the family to brunch and the mall, came home, tried again, no luck. Couldn't even log in anymore. But I tried and I tried, and as you can see, TA DAH! It's Ch.8! :)_

_Ok, now enough with that drama, lol. Now I wanna greatly thank all my wonderful reviewers. I received a total of 7 for the last chapter, which is a recod for me! So thanks so much to: iNSOMNIAC-rEADER-2010, J for Jenny, Missy Farscape, CaMiJaYe, Master of the Boot, SethCohenRocks-2009, and eagle219406. Your words of engouragement and compliments really kept me motivated this week to plow through this next chapter. I really appreciate it._

_Also want to shout out to the few other people who have found this story and now added it and/or, my account in general to their update alerts._

_This chapter was a little though for me to write, I'll admit. I had decided from the very begining that I was going to keep this story in third-person omniscient. (Basicly in everyone's point of you) This makes it tough when you have so many characters in the same scene at once. You keep wanting to see what's in another's head at the time. I tried not to completly change the point of views here, only to avoid having to repeat myself too much. But you will see into the minds of several people throughout. :)_

_Also, in this chapter, I've referenced one of the outtakes from New Moon that Stephenie has posted on her site. I really loved it, it made me crack up so I had to add it. Can anyone spot it? ;)_

_And now, without futher ado, here is ch.8! Happy reading!_

_P.S. Reviews make me sparkle in the sun :)_

___**I do NOT own the characters of Buffy or Twilight, just the very talented Joss Whedon and Stephenie Meyer do.**_

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CHAPTER 8- Fantastical Myths

"Damn it Xander!" Buffy shouted in frustration as she snapped her cell phone shut. She was sitting in her car with Dawn and Bella, waiting for Edward. She had to move her car a little ways down the street, and closer to the woods so as to not risk anyone seeing him. After all, people would notice if he was standing in the middle of the street, sparkling.

"What's wrong Buff?" Dawn asked worriedly. "Is he not answering?"

"No, I got a hold of Willow though; she said she'd be waiting and ready when we get home to follow us to the Cullen's house. Kennedy and Vi are with her. They don't know where Xander is either. He said something about running an errand or something, but not what."

Suddenly, there was a loud knock on the driver's side window. Buffy jumped in her seat. She turned her head to see Edward waiting by the door, trying to get her to open the door.

She rolled down her window and said, "Well, get in."

"Why don't you let me drive," he replied.

Buffy laughed. "Uh, not my car ya don't."

"It would be prudent for you to allow me to drive. We would get there much quicker."  
"It's my car."

"It's my house."

"Buffy, you might wanna let him drive," Bella answered from the back seat. "It really is kinda hard to find. I've been there many times and even I almost miss the turn off every time. Luckily, I've only had to go alone once. Of course, at the time, the road was mostly over grown then. I was only going to leave a package there and…."

"Bella, love, I admitted I did it and I said I was sorry. Will you forgive me?"

"Hey, it was hard trying to get rid of thirty thousand dollars. But yes, I forgive you," she responded with a smile.

"Thirty thousand dollars?" Dawn asked in astonishment. "You had thirty thousand dollars and you were trying to get rid of it? Are you nuts?!"

"Ok, can we get back to the situation at hand?" Buffy asked suddenly. "Edward, I'll let you drive us to your house, but only on the condition that I get to drive us to ours first. We'll switch when we get there. Is that a deal?"

"Fine," he said reluctantly. He climbed in the back seat with Bella and crossed his arms in annoyance. Buffy pulled back onto the road and began to head toward their house. "I hate driving slow," Edward muttered to himself.

"I heard that," Buffy said with a grin. She was loving every second of this.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Edward pulled Buffy's car up to the front of the Cullen's home. Buffy and Dawn looked up in awe as they climbed out. They couldn't believe the sheer size of it, and so well hidden in the trees. It was definitely nothing like the homes the vampires in Sunnydale would use. It was too bright and open. She had to remember that the Cullen's weren't like any other vampires.

Buffy heard the doors slam on Willows car, behind them, and she turned to see her walking towards them, followed by Kennedy and Vi. "No word from Xander then?" Buffy asked.

Willow shook her head. "Nope, I've left him a couple of messages, I hope he gets them. But even if he did, I'm not sure he'd be able to find this place. I was right behind you guys the entire time and I almost lost you." Edward chuckled at her words and Buffy simply glared at him. She figured he would find that funny.

"Shall we?" he asked as he motioned to the front steps of the house. He led the way, with Bella at his side. "They already know we are here. As you are already aware, I called them earlier to inform them that we were coming. They have been awaiting our arrival."

They followed him up the steps and through the already open front door.

Edward and Bella walked straight across the room to join the others standing beside the staircase. The girls hesitated at the door, not sure what to do next. Was it safe to be here? They weren't sure.

"Hello Dawn!" Alice said brightly.

Dawn looked over at her. "Hi," she replied; she could not help returning Alice's warm smile.

Edward cleared his throat. "I'd like to introduce, to you, my family. Dawn, you already know my sister Alice, and that would be Jasper standing beside her."

"Hello," Jasper said as he bowed his head in acknowledgement.

"To their left is my brother Emmett and with him is Rosalie."

The largest of the group nodded as well, but did not smile. The blonde next to him, scoffed in response. She already didn't like this Buffy character, especially if she believed it was her mission in life to kill their kind.

"And these two would be my parents: Esme, and Carlisle," he said, indicating the other two people in the room.

"May I present Buffy, Dawn, Willow, Kennedy, and Vi," he pointed to each one in turn.

"We are very pleased to meet you," Esme said warmly. "Welcome to our home. Would you ladies like to have a seat?" she asked as she motioned towards the living room. They nodded in response and followed as Esme lead them all into the next room. "I'd offer you all something to eat or drink, but I'm afraid all we have around here at the moment is a lot of O Negative," she laughed.

"I think I'll pass, I don't drink, blood that is." Dawn replied. "Not that I drink alcohol or anything like that, just that I don't drink blood. What I mean is…."

Esme smiled at her, "It's perfectly fine, I understand."

"Is anyone going to finally acknowledge the elephant in the room?" Rosalie asked angrily.

Edward shushed her.

"What? Isn't anyone else concerned with the fact that this girl's goal in life is to kill our kind?"

"The same can be said about us Rose," Carlisle told her. She pouted in frustration and glared at Buffy.

"Do I need to point out that MY family and I came knowing we were going to be in a home surrounded by nothing but vampires? Looks like we're just going to have to trust each other, aren't we?"

Emmett scoffed. "Like you could kill us so easily."

"I could actually," Buffy said firmly. "Stakes and holy water aren't the only weapons I'm equipped with."

"ARGH!!!!!!!" Alice suddenly shouted. Everyone looked in her direction.

"What is it? What do you see?" Esme asked anxiously.

"Nothing," Edward answered for her. "We have some unexpected guests outside at the moment."

"That stupid dog!" Alice said angrily.

"Jacob's here?" Bella asked. She looked at Edward who nodded.

"He came with reinforcements. Their pack fears for the safety of our other guests."

"I'm sorry Bella, I really am," Alice said apologetically. "I'm trying, I swear, but I can't concentrate on anything regarding the future with them so close."

"Wait," Willow started. "How did you know that's what she was thinking about?" she asked Edward. "And what, you see the future?" she asked Alice.

"It's not always certain. It can change depending on what people decide, but yes, to an extent, I see the future. But only when it is significant."

"But you don't see, what was his name, Jacob?"

Alice frowned. "She can't see anything if the werewolves are near. For some reason, their presence seems to make her visions go haywire," Edward supplied.

"Did she see us?" Buffy asked.

"I saw you and your sister standing in front of this house. I wasn't sure why exactly, there were no specifics. Just you two standing there."

"And now?"

"I'm certain it's all going to be fine, but I can't know for sure with those dogs outside!" Alice shouted the last part.

"Edward," Carlisle said, "You might as well let them in. I'm sure they will not leave until they are sure that Buffy and her family are safe." Edward nodded and swiftly headed to the door to do so.

"And what about the part where Edward knew what Alice was thinking? Can he like read minds or something?" Dawn asked.

"Yes, all except Bella's. It's rather frustrating, not knowing what's on her mind," he answered, returning to the room followed by Jacob.

"What happened with the others?" Bella asked him.

"They all prefer to keep watch outside," Jacob answered. "They don't want to come in, but Sam didn't trust me coming alone. Strength in numbers."

"Getting back to the topic at hand," Jasper pressed. "Edward said on the phone that you were confused as to how we are different from the vampires you are used to?"

Buffy nodded. "I'm more used to the stake 'em and they turn to dust kinda vamps. Nothing as powerful as you guys. Though there was Dracula, but that was a whole other story," she added. Emmett laughed. "What's so funny?"

"There is no such thing as Dracula, he's fictional, he doesn't exist."

"And I bet these scars on my neck are bite marks from something else all together?!"

"It really was him," Willow defended. "It was awful."

"Ok, ok, ok, so let's just ASSUME that there really is a Dracula. Was he able to be killed with just a stake?"

"Not really," Buffy said. "He did dust when I staked him, but he reformed back into shape and I staked him again. He tried it once more but of course I was standing right there, so I reminded him I was and he stayed in a mist form and floated away."

Emmet looked baffled. "So let me get this straight, you mean to tell us there are actually vampires like the ones in the movies? The kind that burn in the sun and can be killed with a sharp wooden stick?" Buffy nodded. "Damn, what a way to go. That sucks."

"How is it possible for there to be two species of vampires though?" questioned Jasper. "Is that even possible?"

"I have a theory," Carlisle added

Edward could see the book in Carlisle's mind, which he was referencing. Hadn't that been just a bunch of vampire legends, not facts? Nothing more than something similar to a child's book of bedtime stories? "Carlisle, you don't think…"  
He turned to face Edward. "It's the only thing that seems to make any logical sense at the moment."

"But it's all myth."

"Yes, but the same could be said of us Edward. And we very much exist."

"Ok, this whole mind reading thing is getting on my nerves," Kennedy butted in.

"Oh, you get used to it," Alice said, suddenly chipper.

Kennedy looked at her with skepticism. "Uh, ok, but would you guys mind letting the REST of us in on this little so called theory of yours?"

"Edward, perhaps you can begin to explain it to them while I run up to my office to retrieve the book?"

"It's been a while since I first read it, but I'll do my best," Edward replied.

Carlisle excused himself and headed up the stairs.

"The legend he is referring to is a very old one," he began. "It states that several millennia ago, there were two vampires who were lost in the wilderness. They were isolated from the rest of the world. There were no humans or animals around and they were becoming extremely weak with hunger. It is said that, in an attempt to prolong their lives, they decided to feed upon each other."

"I would think you would find that disgusting. Like kinda cannibalistic," Jacob stated.

Edward shook his head. "Can I finish?" Jacob waved his hand, letting him continue. "So they took turns feeding upon each other, and slowly, they began to feel stronger, more powerful. Finally, a few days later brought sunshine. They hurried to try and find shelter, as the sun began to rise. They came across a very small cave, but it was only big enough for one, so they tried to decide which one would have to die. Neither one wanting to live without the other, they decided to sit out, uncovered and welcome a final resting place together."

Jacob laughed. "You're kidding me right? They wanted to die together?"

"What would you have done?" Bella challenged.

He scoffed. "I don't have to worry about that, now do I? I'm not a stupid bloodsucker."

"What happened next?" Vi asked anxiously.

"They waited for the sun to rise," began Carlisle, who had now joined them once again, with the book in hand. "When it did, they were surprised to see that they had not burst into flames, but rather, their skin began to shimmer in the sunlight. Astonished at this turn of events, they did not notice that a few people had finally made it within reach, separated from their group, and were watching. They knew what they were and were already prepared. They attacked them with all they had on them: holy water, a wooden cross, even a stake. Nothing they tried seemed to work. Feeling exhilarated at the thought that nothing could hurt them, the two vampires fought back. They didn't kill them, just bit them and drained their blood. They left them laying on the ground, writhing in pain, and left for dead.

Three days later, the two people awoke with a very strong bloodlust. Rising from their place on the ground they went off on a mission to find someone to feed off of. Eventually they came across the rest of their group who welcomed them with open arms, begging to know what had happened to them since they were gone. The two new vampires feed off their friends, and soon they too transformed into vampires as well. And so on and so forth."

"And you call THAT a bedtime story?" Jacob asked in disbelief. "It sounds more like a nightmare to me."

"It sounds like a rather interesting story," Willow stated. "But is that fact then? Is that what really explains the two types of vampires?"

"I do not know, but I believe it's a start in the right direction," said Carlisle. "I'll have to so some more research to be sure though."

"Oh, Giles would love you," Vi laughed. "You two would get along fine."

"That's right, Giles will be here Friday Buffy," urged Willow. "Maybe he'll have something in his books that might help? He is bringing some very extensive literature from England. Some of those volumes are just… my gosh!"

"Always the book worm Will," Buffy said happily.

"And who's Giles?" Esme asked politely.

"He's my watcher. Every slayer has a watcher. He's mine, Willow is Kennedy's, and our friend Xander, who obviously isn't here, is Vi's."

"If you wouldn't mind," Carlisle said as he sat across for Buffy on the couch. "I would appreciate it if you would tell me about being a slayer. Maybe how it began? If you have any other duties aside from killing our kind?"

Buffy sighed. "Sure," she agreed. "How much time do you have?"


	9. Complicated Legends

_**Hello all! And welcome to chapter 9!**_

**_I've decided that I'm going to change my update day to Saturday, rather than Friday, because, as you can see, I seem to have issues with Fridays, lol! This week has been really hectic and it was such a long and tiring day at work yesterday, all I wanted to do when I got home was crash, which is kinda what I did, lol!_**

**_I wanna thank all my wonderful reviewers: eagle219406, J for Jenny, Lynzi Wine, sweetyjg, Sateda, and Missy Farscape. You guys totally rock! You do better than rock, you guys are totally rad! (Yes, I'm trying to bring back the word rad. :) It's on it's way back up! LOL!)_**

**_Thanks also goes out to all those who have recently added this story and my account in general to their faves/alerts!_**

**_This chapter is a little shorter than my others, so I appologize. But you'll see why next week when I upload ch.10. I have a timeline written out for when I want things to happen. Trust me, it will all make sense in time, or atleast I hope so, lol!_**

**_Ok guys, happy reading!_**

**_P.S. Reviews make me feel like I eloped to Las Vegas with Edward Cullen! ;)_**

_**I do NOT own the characters of Buffy or Twilight, just the very talented Joss Whedon and Stephenie Meyer do.**_

**CHAPTER 9- Complicated Legends**

Carlisle was seated in a chair across from Buffy. He wasn't tired; it was mostly out of habit. He also figured it would help her feel more at ease if he tried acting a bit more human than usual. He motioned for her to begin.

"Well, OUR story goes: 'Into each generation a slayer is born, one girl in all the world, a chosen one, one born with the strength and skill to hunt the vampires and stop the spread of their evil…."

"Wait, one?" Emmett said stopping her. Buffy rolled her eyes, clearly annoyed at having been interrupted, and nodded."But you said the three of you are Slayers, right?"

"That's how it began. Fate chose me to be a Slayer, but there are things you must understand. Until I became the Slayer, it always followed that when the previous Slayer died, a new one is called. The first time I died…"

"YOU DIED?!" Esme asked anxiously.

"Twice actually," she said as she saw Esme and Alice's eyes widen in fear. "But only for a little while. The first time I died, Xander, our friend who isn't here, saved me. I drowned and he gave me CPR. The second time I died saving the world, this God, Glory tried to open a portal to hell and needed Summer's blood to open it. Our family blood. I saved Dawn, my sister, by jumping in. Then it was Willow's turn to save me, she brought me back," she said, pointing towards her.

Willow looked at the ground in embarrassment. "How was that possible?" Esme asked.

Willow looked up. "I shouldn't have done it in the first place…"

"Will," Buffy began.

"No Buffy, I was wrong, I know that. Look at the trouble it got me in. I took you out of heaven; I had no right to do that to you."

Buffy scooted over and took her hand. "Will, you did something amazing, alright? You may have brought me out of heaven, but look at what good came of it. We saved the world again and again. If it hadn't been for you, the slayers in Kennedy, Vi, and the others may have never been awakened at once. Don't you see, what you did, well, it was amazing."

Willow smiled feebly.

"You were in heaven? You're sure of it?" Esme asked in wonder. Buffy simply nodded in response. "How do you know for certain?"

"Well," she began to explain. "If it wasn't heaven, I'd sure like to know how I could get back there for vacations. When I was in that place, it was peaceful, I was peaceful there. There was no pain, no fear, no doubt, I was just there."

"So let me get this straight," interrupted Jasper and looking at Willow. "You are some kind of witch, is that correct?"

"HAH!" Kennedy exclaimed. "More like a goddess!" She rose from her seat defensively. The Cullens took defensive stances in response, waiting for her next move; while Bella and Jacob looked on in confusion. "What are you looking at?!"

Willow let go of Buffy's hand and used both of her hands to try and get Kennedy to sit down. "Relax sweetie, they don't mean anything by it. You have to admit, that was a big unnecessary outburst."

Kennedy looked down at her and saw the concern and comfort in her eyes. She sat back down slowly.

"We're just here to get to know them and for them to get to know us. That's all. You don't have to be so on guard right now." Kennedy nodded in response.

"You care for her," Jasper stated in wonder. He was slightly surprised at the vibes he was getting from the two of them.

"They're a family, of course they care about each other," Rosalie said bitterly, as if it was only obvious.

"No, it's stronger than that," he looked at them quizzically. "You sense it too, don't you Edward?" he asked, not moving his gaze. However, Edward nodded in agreement.

"What are you starring at now?!" Kennedy snapped again.

"I must apologize for my brother," explained Edward. "He's never had the opportunity to feel and witness the emotions of a couple such as yours, first hand."

"Wait, did you say feel?" Vi asked.

Edward nodded. "Jasper would be the other one in our family with an unusual talent. He can feel, or rather taste the emotions in a room. He can also control them, to an extent that is."

"What do you mean control?"

"He can affect the emotions in the room, cause others to feel certain emotions more strongly than others."

"I don't believe it," Dawn said skeptically.

Jasper broke his gaze and looked at Dawn. "Did it ever occur to you that you should feel a lot more apprehensive about being here, than you actually are? In a home full of vampires?" Dawn nodded her head, how could she argue with that?

"I'm sorry in interrupt, but may I ask why you awakened the slayer in those girls?" Carlisle asked.

Buffy turned her attention back to him. "We were fighting something even worse than any old demon. It was evil, the First evil to be exact. It was tougher to fight because it could take on the form of anyone who died. Unless we knew the person wasn't dead for sure, we had no way of knowing if they were who they said they were. That is, unless we tried touching them and failed. The First could not be touched."

"Sounds confusing," Alice added.

"It was, and terrifying," Vi answered. "For a while there, we thought Giles was one because we no one could remember seeing him touch anyone since he got back from a trip he took to bring back another potential Slayer. So, we suspected he was evil."

Buffy suddenly laughed.

"What's so funny about that?" Rose snapped. "Sounds to me like it was something serious and frightening; not knowing who to trust."

"I'm sorry," she said, whipping a tear from her eye. She looked over at the girls, "Do you remember what Giles said when Anya told him they thought he was evil?"

They nodded, smiling at the thought. "Xander tackled him and after we all touch him and explained what we were trying to do, he said, 'You think I'm evil... if I bring a group of girls on a camping trip and don't touch them?'" Dawn laughed.

Edward joined in, having been able to see the whole scene played out in Dawn's mind, as she described it.

"Ok, don't find the humor in that," Jacob said angrily. "Can we just get back to the topic at hand? The whole Slayer stuff?"

"Actually, there isn't much else to say," Buffy said, once she calmed down enough to speak.. "The First evil brought with it an army of Uber vamps, very hard to kill, Will did a spell to awaken all the other slayers so we could fight them. We won the fight, but only after Spike died in the process because he was wearing this mystical amulet thing and got sucked into the Hellmouth, thereby closing it."

"Isn't Spike the one you said tried to rape you?" Edward asked her. He was confused. When Buffy thought of Spike, there were many mixed emotions and he was having a tough time trying to figure out her and the relationship her and Spike might have had.

"It's a long story, but yes. He's a better person though, well vamp, but ultimately he saved our lives and that's all that matters."

"Can I ask something now?" Jacob asked suddenly. Everyone turned their attention towards him. "All this information is all well and good, but why," he asked Buffy, "didn't you try killing Edward when you first met him?"

"Jake," Bella pleaded.

"What?! It's what we're all thinking, well the whole pack is anyway. That's why Sam sent me, Leah, and Embry down here. Thought you might like the back-up in case something happened."

"Jacob Black!" Bella exclaimed. "You're a complete jerk! How could you?!"

"Hey, Bells, just stating the facts," Jacob said while shrugging.

"Love, it's alright," Edward said, trying to pacify her. "From the wolves perspective, no matter what, they will still see us as a dangerous predator, which we are, even if we do not drink human blood."

"Can I ask a question now?" Dawn asked hesitantly.

"Go right ahead dear," Esme encouraged.

"Why do you do it? Why don't you hunt humans? I mean, the only two vampires we know of that only drink animal blood both got their souls back. Angel was cursed with his and Spike, he went looking for it."

"We have our humanity," said Carlise. "We have our souls and we have our humanity."

"That's only theory on your part though," Edward said.

"Do you doubt my theories?"

"I do not doubt them, just question them."

"But Edward, you know perfectly well you have your soul," Bella said protectively. "How else could you manage to not kill me my first day of school?"

"Bella…"

"Nope, I refuse to believe that you don't have one. You have to."

"See what I mean?" Edward chuckled, looking at Buffy. "Why I said she would argue the point of me having my soul intact?"

"I don't care what you say Edward, I know it, and Carlisle knows it, that's all that matters," Bella said stubbornly, with a grin.

"But how is that possible?" Buffy asked. "Like Dawn said, the only way we know how that's possible is if a vampire is cursed or goes out to get it on it's own. When you die, the demon gets your body, not your soul."

"I'm not certain," Carlisle answered. "But it is something I would need to look into."

"Buffy," Willow began. "We could get Giles to bring with him some of the Watcher diaries, maybe those would help. Or any of the volumes on vampires alone might work. Maybe we can try to reference the story of the Cullen's kind, see if we can make any connections?"

"It's worth a shot. You up for it?" Buffy asked Carlisle.

"I'd love to sit and talk with your watcher, that would be most helpful, thank you."

"Great, he's coming to Forks on Friday. When did you want to talk?"

"At the soonest possible moment. Friday would be wonderful, the sooner the better. There are other issues we are facing at the moment, and the sooner we could possibly compare notes on the happenings in Seattle, the better."

"Then it's settled," Buffy said, rising from the couch. "We'll come back here on Friday with Giles and all the books he's bringing with him." She motioned for the others to get up from their seats as well. "Come on guys, it's getting late, and Dawn's got school tomorrow." They followed suit and said their goodbyes to the other Cullens, before following Edward, Bella, and Jacob out the door.

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	10. A Welcoming Arrival

_**Hello all! Welcome to Chapter 10! As you can see, I did SORT of make my deadline for this week. Only a few hours late. I was stuck for a little while, but with the help of my neice, I got it sorted out, so thanks to J for Jenny for your help on this chapter, including the Giles moments! You rock!**_

**_I wanna send a shoutout to all my wonderful reviewers: J for Jenny, CaMiKaYe, Sateda, ashuri-chan24, Master of the Boot, and likelikeglove. You guys are the best! :)_**

**_And a big hello and thanks to those who added me and my stories to your alerts! :)_**

**_I thought I'd point out something that some of you may have gotten a little confused on. The mention of the thirty thousand dollars in chapter 8 was the outtake from New Moon that I referenced. So I hope that helps anyone who was confused about that. If you want to read the outtake itself, you can find it on Stephenie's website. The outtake is called The Scholarship. The link of which can be found in my profile._**

**_Another thing I wanna mention is my wonderful neice J for Jenny made me a really cool trailer for my fan fic. If you'd like to check it out, the link for it can be found in my profile as well._**

**_And lastly, before I leave you alone to read my next chapter, lol, is I created a parody of the Nickelback song Rockstar. I call it Vampire. I had written it shortly after Twilight was released in theaters and only recently finished making the actual video. It is on Youtube if anyone wants to see it. The link for this is also in my profile. :)_**

**_And now it's time to let you read chapter 10! I hope you all enjoy!_**

**_P.S. Reviews make me feel like I'm on Isle Esme, alone with Edward!_**

_**I do NOT own the characters of Buffy or Twilight, just the very talented Joss Whedon and Stephenie Meyer do.**_

**CHAPTER 10- A Welcoming Arrival**

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"Surprise," Xander shouted as they walked through the front door. They looked in the direction of his voice to see him standing in the living room, next to the coffee table. On top of it sat a brand new laptop with a big red bow on it.

"What's this?" Willow asked.

"Well, I figured since Dawnie here was having a hard time adjusting, and well, who couldn't use a new laptop for school, well…TA DAH!" he exclaimed happily.

"You mean, it's for me?" Dawn asked with a huge grin. She walked over and picked it up. "This is so cool!"

"Xander," Willow began. "This was the errand you had to run?"

"Ok, so I know what you're thinking," he said defensively. "You're worried about the cost. But I got a really good deal, I swear. I had to haggle for awhile, but it was worth it!"

Buffy glared at him. "You were out haggling this whole time? That's why you didn't answer your cell phone?!"

Xander dug into his pocket and pulled out his phone. "Oh, damn, sorry about that. It must have died. Oh, well, no harm done," He smiled.

"Xand, we've been trying to get a hold of you for hours!"

"Who cares Buff," Dawn interjected. "We're safe, and look, I get a brand new laptop!"

"All of our lives could have been in danger Dawn!"

"But look, it's shiny!" she exclaimed, hugging it close. "Thank you Xander!"

"You're welcome, but what's this about lives being in danger? What happened? What did I miss?"

"Oh, we were in a house full of vampires," Kennedy supplied.

"But we were perfectly safe," Dawn interjected. "Edward and Alice and the rest of the Cullens are fine. And you saw how safe Bella felt there. Anyone could see that they love each other. If she can trust him, why can't we?"

"It wouldn't be the first time a vampire has bewitched someone into thinking that," Willow pointed out.

"Hey, I thought we agreed to never bring that Dracula thing up again," Xander said angrily. "Sheesh, be an evil vampires laky and do his bidding once because you were bewitched by him and you never hear the end of it!"

"This is different, I can tell," Dawn pleaded.

"They do seem on the up and up," Vi supplied. "They had us in their house after all, and they had every opportunity to kill us, but they didn't."

"That could be part of their plan."

"But killing us there would have been so much easier."

"See!" Dawn shouted.

"We'll give them the benefit of the doubt for now," Buffy said. "Save our full judgment for when Giles gets here on Friday and can meet them for himself. I'm only hesitating because the Quileute don't trust them."

"Ok, you guys are going to have to backtrack a bit," said Xander. "You're all going too fast. Who are the Quileute's and what do vampires have to do with someone Dawn knows from school?"

Buffy sighed and they all sat down so they could recount the day's events. Xander slowly took it all in, but was shocked to hear that it was possible for there to be two so called species of vampires.

"That just doesn't make sense," he finally said, after awhile.

"Does anything make sense anymore?" Willow asked. "That's pretty much the same reactions we had when we first found out that Buffy was the Slayer and vampires really do exist. Shouldn't we just assume that anything is possible at this point?"

"Well, at this point, none of it makes any sense," added Buffy. "The only thing that even comes close to making any sense about any of this is that legend that Carlisle mentioned."

"Well, like you said before," said Vi, "maybe when Giles gets here, he'll be able to help us sort this whole thing out."

"Yeah, and about that," began Buffy, "For the time being, I think we should keep this news to ourselves. Just until Giles gets here anyways; I don't want to risk word getting to the rest of the council, in anyway. Not until we really know what we're dealing with."

"Do you believe them then?" Dawn asked cheerily.

"I believe we should give them a chance," corrected Buffy. "That's all I'm granting them at this point."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Thursday seemed to fly right by. The weather had returned back to it's normal dreary self so both Edward and Alice were able to return to school.

Dawn was happy, for most of the day, having been able to allude the "Wannabes;" that was until lunch time.

She had walked into the cafeteria, and without even thinking about it, began to head straight for the table where Alice, Edward, and Bella sat. However, she didn't make it very far, having been stopped by a very angry Samantha. It took her some quick thinking and a promise that she would still go with them to the movies Friday night, but she was able to successfully lie and convince her that the only reason she was hanging out with the Cullens was to try and get any useful information for her.

She hoped that Buffy would hurry up and just trust the Cullen family already, so she wouldn't have to continue with the charade of wanting to be a "Wannabe" herself. She hoped that when she DID finally see what her and Bella already saw, then she would drop the whole "make new friends" kick and just let her be.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The morning of Giles' arrival was a hectic one. Buffy had informed Mrs. Torres that she would be needing the day off to pick up her father from the airport. She didn't think she would have given it to her if she had said he was her watcher. It would have just sounded creepy.

While Buffy drove to Seattle to pick him up, the others, minus, Dawn who was in school, stayed at home to continue their research.

Buffy walked through the airport lobby and towards baggage claim. She knew he would be there waiting, just as he had said. She was not disappointed. She spotted him in the small crowd, rather quickly. After all, not many people would travel wearing a suit made of tweed. Buffy chuckled at the thought of Giles not wanting to stray from the dresscode.

"Hey Giles!" she exclaimed once she was close enough.

Giles turned to see her standing a few feet away. "Hello Buffy," he said as they closed the gap between them and embraced. "It's nice to see you again."

"It's great to see you again too!" They released each other and picked up his suitcases which were seated on the floor nearby. "Did you bring enough books with you?" She laughed.

"Buffy, an extensive library is necessary for research, no matter what you may encounter."

"Come on book man," she said as they walked out of the airport and towards the parking lot. "You're library days are over."

"I'm surprised it's only you picking me up. Where's the others?"

"In full research mode."

"Did something turn up that you didn't tell me about over the phone?" Giles asked eagerly.

"Uh, you could say something like that," she said as they reached the car and began to load everything into the trunk. "You did bring the Watcher Diaries right?"

"Yes, but I fail to see what they have to do with the vampire activity here in town," Giles said, climbing in through the passenger side door. "Unless by some odd occurrence these vampires are the same as those listed in the Diaries, then I see no reason to waste valuable time looking into them."

Buffy chuckled. "It's not the trouble here in Seattle that I'm worried about Giles."

He looked at her quizzically. "What do you mean?"

"Have you ever heard any stories or came across any in the diaries that mention an invincible vampire?"

"There's no such thing Buffy. For the most part, they can all be destroyed. Sure some may possess certain abilities, but never in my years as a Watcher have I ever heard of a vampire that could not be killed."

"I was afraid you'd say that."

"What's this about?"

"Well, I hate to break it to you, but there is such a thing. Probably something your books hadn't foreseen." Giles looked at her, lost. Buffy sighed. "On Wednesday I met a vampire who is just that. I tell you Giles, no matter what I did, I couldn't kill him. He was very powerful."

"Did you try holy water?"

"Yes, I tried a stake, the holy water, I even tried kicking him out into the sun, but nothing."

"Wait, he didn't burn up in the sunlight?" She shook her head no. "Then are you even sure he was a vampire? Could he have been another demon of some sort?" She shook her head again. "But how is that possible?"

"I'm not sure, I was hoping you could tell me. All he did when I kicked him into the sun was sparkle. His skin was like diamonds. And the funny thing is, if it's a day like today, he can walk around, out in the open. It's only under direct sunlight that he…well… glistens."

"Wait, how do you know this?" Giles asked earnestly.

"Because he goes to Dawn's school. Him and his sister attend the high school Dawn's going to, and his sister is now friends with Dawn."

"What?"

"It's true. I want you to meet him and his family, maybe you can help us figure out how it's possible."

"Family?"

Buffy nodded. "Yes, there's seven of them all together. And get this, they don't drink human blood."

"Have they been cursed?"

"I'm not entirely sure how it works Giles. All I know is they claim to only hunt animals. I've decided to give them the benefit of the doubt for the time being. I wanted to wait till you got here and could meet them. Actually Vi thinks you'll get on famously with Carlisle," she laughed.

"Ok, slow down a second. This is a lot to take in. You are telling me there is a family of vampires living in Forks and they DON'T drink human blood? And it's by choice?"

She nodded. "And that's not all, talk about freakiness, there are also werewolves here."

Giles eyes bugged out of his head. He was having a tough time trying to believe all this and what it might mean. Was it possible the city of Forks was another Hellmouth? One that no one could have foreseen?

"The werewolves are all from a native American tribe nearby called the Quileute. They don't trust the Cullen family, and haven't for many years. But from what we have been able to piece together, there is no need for their hesitation. No records of any type of vampire killings within the area in years, until most recently, and most of those are located here in Seattle. There was two others last year, closer to Forks. But from what we've been told by both the wolves and the Cullens is that they were caused by a trio of nomadic vampires. One of which was killed by the Cullens themselves. And another was killed by the wolves."

"Can you take me to see them?"

"Sure, but we have to get the rest of the gang first, I promised them they could come along when you met the Cullens. Besides, Esme isn't expecting us till later tonight anyways."

"Who's Esme?" Giles asked curiously.

"One of the Cullens. We so have a lot to fill you in on," she answered.

Giles nodded and sat back in his seat. As they drove back to Forks, he tried to mentally skim through the books he had brought with him, trying to think if any of them might have something that could help them figure out exactly what was going on and who they were dealing with.


	11. A Strange Visitor

**_Hello all and welcome to Ch. 11 of my fan fic! :)_**

**_First off I wanna start by thanking my reviewers SethCohenRocks-2009, iNSOMNIAC-rEADER-2010, J for Jenny, celticguidence, Lynzi Wine, and Sateda. You guys are totally awsome! Thanks a bunch! :)_**

**_Another big thanks to the few other people who have added me and/or my fan fic to their alerts. It means a lot! I'm proud to say that this fan fic has been favorited 26 times now! :) It makes me feel all warm and tingly inside, lol!_**

**_This chapter I had planned to be fairly long and I also had everything set for what I wanted to happen, but I ran into a little snag. Twilight fans who have read Eclipse will probably notice that I'm kind of cramming two days into one, and if you don't catch it, then forget I said anything, lol. I had to do it in order for it all to work timeline wise, and I think I was able to acheive just that. I also thought about it, and figured, hey, this is a fan fic, if I stray a little time line wise, from the book, it's cool right? It's a fan fic! :) And just to let you all know, with having to fix that, I CAN tell you that ch. 12, for sure. is going to be a long one, yay! LOL!_**

**_Ok, now I'll leave you be to read the chapter below. I hope you all enjoy!_**

**_P.S. Reviews make me feel about as excited as the new pics from the New Moon set have! (Dakota looks awsome and totally sick, but in a good way!)_**

_**I do NOT own the characters of Buffy or Twilight, just the very talented Joss Whedon and Stephenie Meyer do.**_

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CHAPTER 11- A Strange Visitor

Bella awoke Friday morning to find Edward gone. He had stayed with her through the night, just like he had done most every other night, but he would always leave before she woke up so he could get home and change quickly before returning to take her to school.

She yawned as she stretched her arms and got out of bed, ready to start her new day. Tonight she and the rest of the Cullen family would be meeting this Giles person that Buffy spoke of, and hopefully they would all get more answers once he arrived with whatever books he had brought with him.

It was a total surprise that Buffy had come to town, let alone that she was this Slayer that she claimed to be. She knew Edward and his family had never heard of such a thing, and since Wednesday night when they had found out about what she was, Carlisle had been doing as much research as possible to find anything he could on the legends of the Slayer. He had begun to dig up a few tidbits, but nothing concrete. It appeared the true legends of the Slayer were as guarded as those of the Cullen's kind.

Bella approached her closet and began digging around for something to wear. It was a fairly cool day so she decided to wear her red blouse with the long sleeves. It may not have been the best thing to wear to school, but from what she saw, most of her tops that were still clean, all had shorter sleeves. "I really need to go shopping and get some warmer clothes," she thought. "Oh crap, I hope Alice doesn't see me thinking that."

She turned to grab the blouse, which she knew she had tossed on her desk chair a few days ago, only to find that it was not there. She looked around puzzlingly. She hadn't worn it that day BECAUSE of the fact that it was a little too dressy for school, so where could it be? She walked over to her hamper, hoping that she had accidently tossed it on top when she rushed to tidy up the day before. Unfortunately, it wasn't on or in the hamper either. "I bet Alice took it," she thought to herself. "Maybe her weird way of wanting to trick me into going shopping with her by holding one of my tops as hostage."

She sighed in frustration and returned to her closet, to pull out another random shirt to wear.

Once she was dressed, she rushed down stairs to grab a quick bowl of cereal before Edward arrived. She was about to sit down at the table when she heard the front door slam open. She dropped the bowl on the floor, letting it shatter in a million pieces and sending cornflakes and milk everywhere. "Shoot!" she shouted. She left the food on the ground and headed, cautiously, towards the hallway to investigate.

The front door was wide open, letting in the cool breeze from outside. She shivered as she stuck her head out, looking around. Not seeing anything unusual, she closed the door again. Slowly she turned around and jumped in the air, startled by the figure standing before her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Hola Libro man!" Xander said once Buffy and Giles walked into the kitchen.

"Hello there everyone," Giles greeted back happily. "How are you?"

"Oh, just peachy," Kennedy responded sarcastically. "Confused as heck and trying to make sense of this madness."

"Oh, so no luck finding anything interesting that may be relevant to our new acquaintances?"

"Nothing major yet," Willow sighed. "I take it though Buffy told you all about the Cullens though?"

He nodded," I must say, it is quite extraordinary that there is a possibility of two species of vampires in existence."

Kennedy walked over and took one of the large bags Giles was holding. "Anything in here that might help us out?"

"Oh, uh it's possible," he replied. "I brought the Watcher Diaries with me as well, per Buffy's request, but I'm not sure any of them would be of any help. In my time as a Watcher, I can't remember seeing any of them making any reference to multiple species of…" he looked off into space for a moment as a thought suddenly occurred to him.

"What is it Giles?" Willow asked worriedly.

"What's the what?" Buffy asked as well.

"There might be one book that could possibly help us, but…"  
"But nothing," Kennedy said as she set the bag on the ground and opened it. She began to take books out one by one. "If it has anything that could help us, why hesitate? Which one of these bad boys is it?"

"No, you don't understand. It's not here, I didn't bring it with me."

"Weren't you supposed to bring anything that could help us?" she asked angrily.

"Kennedy, he didn't know what we are facing," Willow said soothingly.

"And neither do we. Isn't he the one that has always said to be prepared for the worst? This pretty much qualifies as the worst."

"We don't know that yet," Vi added. "And I for one am with Dawn. If this Bella girl can trust them enough to be dating one of them then…"

"Someone is dating a vampire?!" Giles asked disapprovingly. "Does she not realize the danger in that? How irresponsible and…and…" he stopped once he saw the look on Buffy's face. "I mean, that is, well…anyways, about that book."

"The fact that this girl feels safe with them is one of the reasons I have reserved any judgment Giles. Besides, from what we have learned about the family, the father figure of the bunch, Carlisle, is actually a doctor. He works at the local hospital."

"But how is that possible? How can he be that close to so much blood and resist?"

"I don't know," Buffy said shrugging. "So what book is it you were talking about?"

"Oh, well it's a very old text, one we never really used before. It is said to contain very old legends, ones from even before the tale of the first Slayer's origin. Many other Watchers never reference it, only because of the fact that it was only thought to be fables, legends, myths. Nothing concrete, just fictional stories created by the old ones."

"So is it still at the council? How will we get our hands on it?" asked Xander.

"Call Andrew," Willow suggested. "Couldn't he send it? He's part of the newly formed council now. If there is anyone we can trust with this, it would be him."

"I'm afraid she's right," Buffy sighed. "He's the only one we could possibly use to gain access to the archives."

"I'll give him a ring straightaway," Giles agreed. "When I'm done, we can take a look at the volumes I did bring with me, so we can see if we can make any more connections."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Edward!" Bella exclaimed once she saw who it was. She ran to him and tried hitting him against his chest in frustration, she did no damage. "You scared me half to death! What did you think you were doing bursting in like that? I…"

He pulled her into a tight hug and kissed the top of her head, silencing her. "I'm sorry love, I had to check on something."

"What was it?"

"Someone was here," he said solemnly. "I shouldn't have left you."

"I swear, Jacob hasn't stopped by. I haven't even seen him since Wednesday night."

"I don't mean him, I meant a vampire."

She suddenly felt very cold and shivered at the thought. Could it possibly be…"Victoria?" she said, more as a statement than a question.

He shook his head, "No, I didn't recognize the scent, it's new. But it's also fresh. Whoever it was had to have been in here recently. Sometime between when I left you and when your father woke up."

"Could it be the Volturi then?" she asked hesitantly.

"It's the only thing that seems probable at the moment. Whoever it was didn't seem to have any desire to kill you or Charlie though."

"But how do you know that for sure?"

"You're both alive, aren't you?"

Bella nodded. "True, but what does it mean? Are they sending someone just to see if I'm still human?"  
"I don't know, Alice has been watching Aro, waiting for him to make a decision and send someone after you. It all makes no sense." He stood there in thought for a moment, trying to ponder any and all possibilities. "Hmm, I wonder…"

"What is it?" Bella asked anxiously.

"It goes against my feelings towards the wolves, but I wonder if they may be able to help. Could you possibly give Jacob a call? See if he will come? I hope we haven't missed him and he hasn't gone to school just yet. We are already late ourselves, and obviously we aren't going to go now."

She nodded in confusion and walked over to the phone to dial the familiar number. It picked up after two rings.

"Hello?" a groggy voice answered.

"Jake, is that you?"

"Bella!" he answered excitedly. "Oh please please please tell me you forgive me. I'm sorry I was such a jerk. I promise to try and get a long with that bloodsucker of yours if it means we can still hang out, I…"

"I was hoping you'd say that. Look, Edward wants to talk to you, how soon can you get here?"

"Why should I go there to talk to him?!"

"Jacob, please, it's important."

She heard him sigh at the other end of the line. "Fine, I'll be there soon. This better be good," he said as he hung up the phone.

"He said he's on his way," Bella said as she placed the phone back on the cradle. "But what is this all about?"

"I'm hoping the scent is something the wolves have come across. Maybe they have some answers we don't"

Bella nodded in agreement. "Oh no!" she said once she suddenly realized the mess on the kitchen floor. She rushed over to clean it up. She was just finishing whipping things up when they heard a knock at the door. Bella rose to answer it.

She opened to door wide to see Jacob standing on her porch, waiting. She let him in.

"Where's the bloodsucker?"

"EDWARD," she corrected, "is over here in the kitchen." He followed her as she led the way.

"Alright, what's this about? And it better be good, I didn't want to have to run all this way for nothing."

"Good morning Jacob," Edward greeted formally. "Thank you for coming, I assure you, what I have to say and ask of you is very important."

"Well, get on with it," he said impatiently.

"I'm not sure if you were able to pick up on the scent right away, but someone was here early this morning. A scent even I can't recognize. I was wondering if it's something perhaps you and the other wolves have come across or if it's new to you as well."

"Where?"

"I followed the scent up to Bella's room and back out the front door."

"I'm on it," he said as he took off up the stairs.

"While he picks up the scent, I'm going to see how far I can trail it outside. See how far it goes and in what direction," said Edward. He kissed the top of Bella's head again and rushed out the front door.

Jacob returned shortly after. "Oh my gosh Bella, your room reeks!" He exclaimed, plugging his nose.

"Ha ha ha, very funny," she replied dryly.

He looked around, expecting to see Edward. "Where'd the bloodsucker go?"

"First off, if you even plan on coming back here, you have to stop calling him that. And secondly, he went out to try and follow the scent. Did it smell familiar to you at all?"

"No, I agree with him on one thing, it is a new smell. None of the pack has come across anything like that, but we'll keep a closer watch now."

"I don't want you to get hurt."

"Please Bella, I'm tougher than you think," he said wryly.

"Well, the scent cuts off once you get further east up the road," Edward said, as he walked back in through the door. "The trail ends there. As far as I can tell, a car must have picked whoever it was up, which doesn't make things any easier for us. I'd like to go out and do another patrol around the house, but it will just have to wait."

"Why?" both Jacob and Bella asked at once.

"I'm not leaving you alone love. Not until I can get you to my house, will I investigate any further."

"Why can't you leave her with me?!" Jacob asked angrily.

"It's nothing personal, I just won't feel comfortable if I'm not sure she is safe."

"She'll be just as safe with us as she is with you bloodsuck…" he stopped when he saw Bella's glare, "with you and your family."

"That may be true, but…"

"Look, there is a bonfire tonight on the Rez, I DID want to ask Bella to come with, you know she'd be safe there."

"I don't know that, but I'm willing to make a compromise."

"What's that?"

"I'll drop her off at the boundary line tonight, if you want to meet us there. If you allow me to take her with me to my home right now where she can be safe for the time being."

"But…"

"Please hear me out. Carlisle and the others must hear of this news, and until I can talk to my sister about this and find out if she has seen anything that may be of use, I don't want to let her out of my site."

"Edward, really?" Bella asked hesitantly.

He nodded. "I know I've been really hard on you about this, but if the wolves are able to help us in anyway, figure out who this is that is after you, and stop them, then I'm in favor of it. Whatever I can do to keep you safe, I will."

"Then it's settled," Jacob said happily. "Tonight you get to come down to La Push."

Bella smiled at the thought. Perhaps this was a step in the right direction. Maybe this meant hope.


	12. Theories and Entertaining Escapades

**_A great big HELLO to all my readers out there! And happy Labor Day weekend!_**

**_As you can see, Ch.12 is up, and as you'll also see, it is longer than the other chapters, so yay! LOL!_**

**_Now, I'm a little sad cause I had planned to try and post this on Friday as a day early surprise cause I'm so excited about this chapter, but for some reason, I was having issues with the site. Glad they are all worked out now. :)_**

**_Now, I want to send a shoutout and a great big thank you to all my wonderful reviewers: J for Jenny, SethCohenRocks-2009, Sateda, CelticJenn, TheAngelOfHope, Lynzi Wine, and CaMiJaYe. You all rock out loud in my book! :)_**

**_I also want to thank, once again, the people who have recently added me and/or this fan fic to their update alerts. It makes me smile to know you are anxiously awaiting updates from me._**

**_Ok, now before I leave you with this chapter, I want to point out a couple of things. I do not take credit for some of the convo at the Cullen's house in this chapter, as you'll be able to tell, I BORROWED lines from the great Stephenie Meyer. She can word things so much better than I can, lol! And is seemed to fit that part of the story well. I did do a little tweaking though, so hopefully not too much that you can really tell._**

**_Ok, now without further ado, here it is, Ch. 12!_**

**_P.S. Reviews make me as giddy as Alice going on a shopping spree!_**

_**I do NOT own the characters of Buffy or Twilight, just the very talented Joss Whedon and Stephenie Meyer do.**_

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CHAPTER 12- Theories and Entertaining Escapades

"Is Alice anxious much?" Bella chuckled as she watched Alice pacing back and forth on the porch, looking fretful.

"She's anxious as to why she can't see you past this evening when I am dropping you off with Jacob," Edward answered as they walked towards the front door. "It worries her almost as much as it does me, when she loses sight of you."

"Oh," she said, understanding. She suddenly felt very guilty at the thought that this vision, or lack there of, meant that Edward was not going to go back on his promise of letting her go down to La Push tonight.

"Are you going to tell me why your future is completely nonexistent past six o'clock?" Alice asked angrily.

"It's ok Alice," Edward tried soothing her. "I'm allowing her to go down to La Push so I can take another sweep of the area surrounding her house." Alice looked confused. "I might ask you though, as to what happened early this morning?!" he asked angrily.

Alice was taken aback, "What are you talking about?"

"There was someone in Bella's room this morning, how could you not see that? You were supposed to be keeping an eye on her!"

"I...I..." she stammered. She was bewildered at the news.

"Perhaps you three should come inside so we can discuss this calmly," Esme pleaded, suddenly appearing in the slowly followed her into the living room. "Now what's this all about?"

"Someone was in Bella's room this morning, someone like us, and I want to know how Alice could have possibly missed it!"

"Calm down my son, it's not an exact science." Carlisle said gently.

"Edward, I…"

"He was in her room, do you understand that? He could have been in there waiting for her to get home!"

"If that had been the case, then I would have seen that."

"Are you sure?"

Alice glared back at him, "You already have me watching the Volturis' decisions, watching for Victoria's return, watching Bella's every step. You want me to add another? Do I just have to watch Charlie, or Bella's room, or the house, or the whole street too? Edward, if I try to do too much, things are going to start slipping through the cracks."

"It looks like they already are," Edward snapped.

"She was never in any danger. There was nothing to see."

"If you're watching Italy, why didn't you see them send-"

"I don't think it's them," Alice insisted. "I would have seen that"

"Who else would have left Charlie alive?"

Bella shuddered at the thought.

"I don't know," Alice said.

"Yeah, that's helpful."

"Edward, please stop," Bella whispered. She felt bad for Alice. She was already doing so much, how could he expect her to watch everything?

He sighed and glanced at Bella who was looking at Alice sadly. He looked back at his sister and finally saw the hurt and pain in her mind. She felt really badly about missing something potentially vital. She felt guilty. "You're right Bella. I'm truly sorry Alice. Can you forgive me? I know I shouldn't be taking it all out on you, it was inexcusable."

Alice nodded, "I understand, it upsets me too."

"We have to look at this logically," Edward said. "Figure out the possibilities as to who it could have been."

"Could it have been Victoria?"

Edward shook his head. "No, I didn't recognize the scent. Besides, it wouldn't be her style. It could have been from the Volturi, someone I've never met."

Alice shook her head. "Aro hasn't asked anyone to look for her yet. I'll see that. It's what I'm waiting for."

"An official command?" asked Edward.

"Could it be someone's acting on their own? But why?" Esme questioned.

"Casius's or Jane's idea. They both have the resources to send someone unfamiliar," suggested Alice.

It all suddenly started to click in Bella's mind. She knew it had to have been coming for awhile, but Edward had assured her that it would be years, maybe centuries before they thought of her again. "They wanted to see if I'm still alive."

Everyone's eyes fell on her. "It's possible," Carlisle replied. "But it makes no sense why they would come so soon."

"Maybe we're jumping to conclusions. We've done nothing wrong. Perhaps it's a coincidence," tried Esme. "Someone passing through and just curious; after all, our scent has to be all around you Bella. Perhaps they were curious as to what draws us to you?"

Emmet grumbled. "If that's the case, why not just come and talk to us?"

Esme laughed, "You'd be that bold, but would another vampire? Our family is quite large and possibly intimidating to a regular nomad. It doesn't have to be an enemy."

They all pondered the thought for awhile. "I don't know," Edward said finally. "The timing was too perfect. Carlilse, Jasper, would you two mind coming with me to check out the scent? Perhaps you can tell me if it's something familiar to either of you?" They nodded in agreement.

"I'm coming too," Emmett butted in, not wanting to be left out. "If there's a possibility of a fight coming, I'm ready and willing."

"What about me?" Alice asked timidly.

"You were going to help me prepare dinner for our guests, weren't you?" Esme asked sweetly. "They can fill us in when they return."

Alice looked down sadly.

"I don't blame you one bit Alice," Edward whispered. "It's not your fault, and I once again apologize for my outburst."

Bella sighed, she only knew one way to cheer Alice up, but she knew she was going to hate herself for doing it. "Hey Alice, did you want to go shopping this weekend? I need a few more warmer tops and…"  
"I knew it!" Alice exclaimed, suddenly chipper. "We can go right now if you like I…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Bella laughed, glad her best friend was smiling again. "I'm going down to La Push tonight, but tomorrow for sure. Besides, didn't you say, Esme, that she was going to help you cook?"

"Yes dear, would you care to lend us a hand? We could use a taste tester," she said sweetly.

"Of course! I'd be happy to!" Bella answered happily. She followed Rosalie, Esme, and Alice into the kitchen, as the guys all left to track the scent of Bella's unwanted visitor.

She was extremely worried about her father's safety, but she knew she had to stay strong so he wouldn't be able to tell that anything was wrong. It also made her nervous to think that Jacob and the Cullens were going to be tracking whoever it was that had gone into her home. She took small comfort in knowing that Edward was certain it was not Victoria.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Giles!" Dawn exclaimed happily, as she walked in the front door. She ran through the hallway, and into the kitchen, where they were all seated, and ran over to give Giles a big hug.

Giles looked up at her in confusion. "Uh, hello Dawn. It's good to see you," he said awkwardly. "How are things at your new school?"

Dawn pulled away slowly and shot a quick glare in Buffy's direction. "It's ok, I guess."

He looked back and forth between Buffy and Dawn and asked, "Are you having trouble in class?"

"No," Buffy answered. "She's just mad cause I'm making her go to the movies tonight with some girls who invited her.

"They're awful and Cordelia wannabes!" Dawn exclaimed.

Giles gave Buffy a concerned look. "You want to subject her to that kind of torment?"

"They're not that bad. That Samantha girl I met the other day when I went to pick you up, Dawn, seemed nice enough."

"You don't know her like I do. She's the worst one!"

"Here we go again," Buffy sighed.

"Alice is nice enough, and Bella too! The whole Cullen family is, why can't you guys see that?" Dawn defended.

"I agree that they are, but I still want Giles to meet them first. I have nothing against the Cullens as of yet. I just want you to have some non-supernatural friends. Some normal people to hang out with."

"And you call the Wannabe's normal?!" she asked in shock. "Being delusional into thinking someone who could care less is actually madly in love with you and taking you to the prom is normal?"

"A lot of people get crushes on others all the time, it's not uncommon."

"And talking in codes is normal?"

"What do you mean they talk in codes?" Giles asked, finally joining in the conversation.

"They say things in like…like as if they're texting or something. OMG, E.C., B.S., A.C., OMFC…it's annoying!"

"What on earth does OMFC stand for anyways?" Buffy asked.

"I don't know, Oh… my… freaking…CARLISLE! You have to meet Carlilse Giles! Once you do, you'll totally see that Buffy is just overreacting!"

"And Carlisle is the father of the family, correct?"

"Father figure, yes," answered Buffy. She turned back towards Dawn. "And don't think that little outburst is going to distract me, you're going with them tonight."

"I think the Buffster's right Dawnie," Xander added, coming into the room. "It will do you good to make friends with people who AREN'T vampires or werewolves. Trust me, I think I'm done with the buddy buddyness of hanging with the likes of demons and such."

"But…" Dawn tried.

"But nothin', I'm sure the Cullens are on the up and up and if they become great allies to us, then so be it; anything to help fight the good fight. But if it comes to being friends, count me out," replied Xander firmly.

Dawn looked crestfallen, but agreed. There was no way out of this, that she could see, so she figured she might as well just go along with it and hope and pray that she would meet someone else at the movie theater that she could hang out with. Someone Buffy and the rest of the gang would deem normal.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"I still don't like this love," Edward said cautiously. He and Bella were in his car, on their way to the boundary line to meet Jacob.

"You promised me Edward." she sighed in frustration. She was getting tired of the rivalry between her best friend and boyfriend.

"I know, but…"

"No buts," she said firmly. "You already promised Jake you'd drop me off so I could go to that bonfire tonight, you can't back out on your word now."

"I'm very worried about your safety right now love, you can't begrudge me because of that, can you?"

Bella glared at him. She loved him more than life itself, but sometimes he could be so stubborn. "Look, I'll be fine. They'll keep me safe. I trust them."

"But I don't."

"And this is exactly why you have to try and let me do things my way, like hang out with them without you, so you can see that they ARE trustworthy."

"If anything bad were to happen to you love, I…"

"If anything bad happens to me, that's Jacob's fault, and you have my permission to kick his ass," she laughed, trying to lighten the mood. "Other than that, you just have to trust that I'll be safe. Besides, we're already there, it's too late to turn back now." She gestured out the window.

They had just rounded a corner and could see Jacob leaning against the side of his red Volkswagen. He smiled brightly when he saw Bella sitting in the front seat.

Edward stopped the car about thirty feet away. "Call me when you're ready to come home, and I'll be right here."

She nodded in agreement. If tonight went well, she thought, maybe he would begin to see her side of things that the werewolves weren't all that bad, and perhaps she'd get to visit with Jacob again without having Edward worry so much. It was the best she could hope for at least.

He leaned over, and instead of the quick peck goodbye, he took her by surprise and kissed her passionatly. When he pulled away finally, she gasped for breath. He laughed and reached over, opening the door for her. "Goodbye my love. Be careful."

She nodded and climbed out of the car, with shaky legs. His kisses always had the same affect on her, they made her dizzy and breathless, but she wouldn't change them for the world.

She walked over towards Jacob, with a spring in her step. Maybe this was going to work out after all, she thought.

Once she got close enough to Jacob, he shoved away from his car and raced towards her, picking her up and swinging her around, enveloping her in a tight bear hug.

"Jake…can't…breath!" she rasped, struggling to free herself from his embrace.

"Oh, sorry," he chuckled, setting her down.

They both looked back at the sudden sound of the Volvo's engine's growl and watched as Edward sped away.

"You know, the least you could do is make this easier on him. He's willing to trust you enough to let me come tonight."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," he said nonchalantly. "Well, ready for a bonfire?"

Bella shook her head and laughed. It was hard not to be happy in his presence. His enthusiasm always seemed to rub off on her when she was around him. "Sure, why not."

"Great! Dad's gonna be there, he's gonna recite a few Quileute legends. It's sorta like a council meeting. Its Quil's first time. Plus, you'll get to meet Kim, the girl Jared imprinted on, Sue and her kids Leah and Seth, and of course Embry and Quil! Quil's going to be so mad at you when he finds out you knew before he did," he laughed.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The bonfire went by in a blur, but Bella enjoyed every minute. She relished the thought that she was able to spend time with Jacob and the others. She felt welcome here, La Push had always felt like a second home to her.

"Wanna head down to Port Angeles, get an ice cream or something?" Jacob suddenly asked, bringing her out of her thoughts. Her mind had been swimming with the legends that Billy had recited. All legends, but all true.

"What time is it?"

"Still early, that Buffy chick probably isn't even at the blood…Cullen's yet. We still got time."

"Sure, that sounds like fun," she said happily.

"Can I come?" Seth asked anxiously. Bella laughed, his tone reminded her of a 5 year old anxious to open his presents on Christmas morning.

"That's cool," Jacob said. "You comin' too Embry?"

"Yeah, I'm up for a night on the town," he laughed.

"You are NOT taking my little brother out on some wild goose chase for ice cream," Leah said angrily.

"It's not a wild goose chase, there's a great ice cream shop there, it has the best rocky road you ever tasted!"

"I don't trust these buffoons."

"Take a chill pill Leah," Embry chuckled. "He'll be fine. If you're so worried about him, come with us."

"Like I wanna hang out with the leech-lover!"

Bella glared at her. "Can ya keep the leech comments to a minimum?" Jacob asked hesitantly.

"I'm going, that's all there is to it," Seth said firmly. "Come if you want, don't come, it's up to you."

"Fine, but I'm not sitting next to her in the car," Leah said pointing to Bella.

"Fine by me, that just means I get shotgun," she said happily. So what if Leah didn't like her. She was going to enjoy this night out no matter what.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"OMG, I'm so glad you decided to come with us tonight!" Brittany said happily. She had her arm linked through Dawn's as they all walked to their seats inside the movie theater.

"Yeah, it's great," she said flatly. Dawn wondered if there was anyway she could ditch these girls somehow. Maybe make an excuse that she had to go to the bathroom during the previews and skip out. But then how would she get home, they picked her up on the way?

"You just better not say a word when R.P. comes on the screen," spat Samantha.

Dawn could not figure out why the leader of this little trio disliked her so much. "Just because I sat with Alice, Bella, and Edward the last couple of days," she thought, "What does that have to do with any…oh yeah, according to Sam, Bella's the enemy." She laughed at her own thought.

"What's so funny?" Samantha asked, annoyed.

"Nothing, just…Ooo, look, the previews are about to start!" She said quickly as a distraction. "Maybe we better get some seats."

The four of them scrambled to one of the rows of seats and sat.

"OMG, are they seriously showing this preview still?" Samantha asked angrily.

Dawn was puzzled and turned her full attention to the screen. It was a preview for a movie called Queen Sized. It was about an overweight teenage girl who gets nominated for homecoming queen as a joke. She had heard about the movie before and thought it had actually looked good and was excited to see it.

"It's ridiculous to think anyone would even want to watch that!" said Amanda.

"Look at her fat ass, I mean come on, she had it coming!" Samantha said disgustedly.

"Totally," was Brittany's only response.

Dawn was beginning to feel uncomfortable. How shallow could these girls be? She knew they were bad, but this was terrible.

"Seriously," Samantha began. "Whoever thought of that movie was probably as fat as she is or worse, and thought it would be a good idea. N-O-T-NOT!"

"Such a waste of money, if you ask me," added Amanda.

Samantha laughed. "I know, they could have used that money to make her skinny or something, or buy her a mask so we wouldn't have to see her ugly face."

Dawn couldn't take much more of their attitude and rose from her seat. "Where do you think you're going?!" Samantha asked angrily.

"Oh, just to get a soda from the snack bar, I'll be right back," she lied. If she was lucky, she was going to find a payphone and beg Xander to come and pick her up.

"Better get a diet," Samantha answered flatly. "Don't wanna end up like that fat ass on the screen!" The wannabes laughed.

Dawn just nodded and rushed out and into the lobby. She couldn't understand how they could be so cruel. It wasn't even her they were insulting, but it had still offended her. What did the other people sitting in the movie think? She had been sitting with them and she hoped it wouldn't reflect on her, though deep down she knew, if people saw her hanging out with them, it would.

She made her way towards the snack bar to ask someone where the nearest phone was when she spotted a familiar face at the counter. "Bella!" she shouted happily as she approached. "What are you doing here?"

"Hey Dawn," she greeted back. She was surprised to see her there as well. "I went down to La Push to hang out with Jake here and after, a few wanted to come to Port Angeles for some ice cream, the place was packed so Embry here," she said, pointing to a tall dark-skinned boy standing beside her and Jacob, "suggested we see a movie."

"So you guys are getting along again?" Dawn asked jokingly. It was only obvious with how calm Bella seemed standing next to Jacob now.

"She could never stay mad at me," Jacob joked, holding Bella tightly in a hug.

"Gag me," a tall girl, that was standing on the other side of Jacob, said.

"You'll have to excuse Leah, she's well…just a grouch," Embry laughed.

"So what are you doing here?" Bella asked.

"Buffy made me come to the movies with the Wannabes, I ditched them, and unfortunately I guess I didn't think that plan all the way through, I have no ride now."

"We can take care of that," Jacob said happily. "You can see a movie with us then we can drive ya back. Bella's going to the Cullen's afterwards anyways, your sister should be there too, right?"

"Yeah, thanks! That would be great!"

"There's not enough room for all of us," Leah said roughly.

"You can walk," Jacob laughed, and Leah just glared back at him.

"We'll figure it out," Embry supplied.

"Figure out what?" a voice asked suddenly. Dawn couldn't see who it was because he was right behind Jacob's brawny frame.

"You find the bathroom ok little brother?" Leah joked, "Didn't need to leave any breadcrumbs?"

"Shut-up Leah," he said glaring at her. "Now what's this about figuring something out?"

"Oh, all of us getting home," Bella answered. "Seeing as we now have one more in our little party. This is Dawn. Dawn, this is Leah's brother Seth."

Dawn turned her full attention to Seth as he turned to finally face her. She couldn't understand it, but looking in his eyes, she suddenly felt safe and calm, more so than she had ever felt before. Almost like time had stopped for just that moment. She couldn't explain it but somehow she felt like destiny had brought him to her. Like she belonged with him and that he would protect her no matter what happened. Like she was the only thing that would ever matter to him, like she was the center of his world.

* * *

**_TA DAH! LOL! Now you all know why I was very anxious to get this chapter out. This little moment has been planned ever since I first started writting this fan fic. The idea had popped into my mind and I have had a big chunk of the next chapter written for quite sometime that has a lot to do with this last moment in the chapter. :) ANd friday isn't over yet, in my story. I won't give too much away, but I will say, that in the next chapter, you WILL get to see Buffy's reaction to tonight's events! ;)_**

**_On a quick side note, the movie I mentioned, that they are watching the trailer of, is an actual movie that I really did like. Queen Sized stars Nikki Bronsky who starred in the movie version of the Broadway musical Hairspray! I think she is a really talented actress and very beautiful. I have nothing against her, and I am a great fan. Just thought I'd point that out, lol!_**


	13. Stressful Revelations

**_Hello all, and welcome to ch. 13 of my fan fic!_**

**_I want to start this week out with a shoutout, as usual, to my awsome reviewers J for Jenny, Hearts In Strangeness, Lynzi Wine, TheAngelOfHope, Sateda, SethCohenRocks-2009, Ael, and Commander Ael (whom I'm assuming is actually the same as Ael, but just in case, wanna cover all my bases and not leave anyone out, lol! You guys are all amazing. Thank you so much fo your wonderful reviews. They are what keep me motivated to write and keep this story going! :)_**

**_Also want to thank the few others who have added this fan fic and/or my account in general, to their update requests and/or favorites. It makes me feel so good to know you are all anxiously awaiting more. :)_**

**_This chapter, like the last, has been a long time coming. There is a convo in here as well, that I have had basicly written out since I first began this story. Luckily I only had to adjust it a little bit in order to fit it in accordingly._**

**_As promised you will get to see Buffy's reaction in this chapter._**

**_I'm also currently working on a one-shot which is basicly an outtake from this chapter. I started writting a scene with the Wannabes in here, but decided that it just didn't fit right, so I took it out. As much as I dislike the Wannabes myself (I mean who WOULD like their shallow and self absorbed selves? LOL!) but I still wanted to play around with that particular scene. Be warned though, it might not be posted for some time because of some ideas I have for it that may become significant as this story progresses. I'll keep you posted on that. :)_**

**_And now, I leave you with Ch. 13 Stressful Revelations_**

**_P.S. Reviews make me feel like I've been imprinted upon by Robert Pattinson (even if he isn't a werewolf) ;)_**

_**I do NOT own the characters of Buffy or Twilight, just the very talented Joss Whedon and Stephenie Meyer do.**_

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CHAPTER 13- Stressful Revelations

"Wow, this house is awesome!" Xander exclaimed in awe as they stepped out of the car, in front of the Cullen's large home.

"It is rather impressive," Giles mused.

"Not just impressive, this is a carpenter's dream!" he said happily. His eyes scanned the fine details of the house. Very simplistic but also grand in it's own way. He couldn't help it, Watcher job aside, he was still a carpenter at heart.

Willow laughed. "Leave it to you Xander to get excited by crown molding."

"That would be eves, the crown molding would be on the inside," he corrected.

They all looked up at the sound of the front door opening. Light filled the front yard and silhouetted a tall figure standing in the doorway.

"Welcome," Edward greeted warmly. "Please come in, my family has been awaiting your arrival," he said, stepping to the side and showing them in.

Buffy lead the way and walked up the steps and into the house. When she entered the large living room, she saw the rest of the Cullen family, all lined up, in front of the stairs, anxiously waiting to greet them.

"Hi everyone," Buffy said smiling. She wanted to start off on a friendly tone, after all, it was always better to keep things light. "This is my Watcher, Rupert Giles," she said indicating the tall older gentleman. "And Xander Harris, Vi's Watcher," she pointed to the dark haired man standing to his left.

"This is my family," Edward said, suddenly appearing at Buffy's side, and facing their guests. "Emmett, Rosalie, Alice, Jasper, Esme, and Carlisle."

"It's a great pleasure to meet you," Carlisle greeted warmly, extending his hand towards Giles to shake.

Giles hesitated, and glanced at Buffy who smiled back in encouragement. He took a step forward and took Carlisle's cold hand in his and shuddered as he shook it. "I would question your pleasure in meeting people who have been taught to fight and kill your kind, but I must say I am quite intrigued to meet you all as well."

"It would seem, we may not have as many differences you and I," Carlisle stated. "My family does not wish to harm anyone, as I'm sure Miss Summers has informed you."

"Uh, yes," Giles said. "She has told me that; but also that the Quileute Tribe does not trust you."

"It is true, but only because of the legends of our kind. As you will soon see, I hope, is my family and I are not, what you would call, evil."

"Mmm, what smells so good?" Xander suddenly asked while rubbing his stomach. He was starving and there was a delicious aroma coming from the kitchen. Willow elbowed him in the ribs. "Ow!" She smiled sweetly, looking innocent.

"Forgive me," said Esme, "I should have offered right away, Rosalie, Alice, and I have prepared a meal for you all."

"That is very kind of you," replied Giles. "Thank you."

"But you don't eat," said Vi. "Food I mean."

"You are correct," said Edward. "We do not, but with how often Bella is here Esme has taken up the hobby of cooking. There are many recipes she is learning to prepare. And I assure you, it is all eatable."

"I trust ya, anything that smells that good HAS to taste as good!" exclaimed Xander happily.

Edward chuckled and nodded at him. He liked the way this man's mind worked. Childlike in some ways, but still an adult to the core, even if he didn't believe he could truly handle his role as Vi's Watcher. "I'm certain you would be willing to try anything Esme were to place in front of you, but I was referring to the others. I can sense they are hesitant to eat something a vampire, with no sense of taste, would cook."

"Bella seemed to like it at least," Alice chimed in.

"But she isn't here now?" Buffy asked.

Edward shook his head. "No, and neither are any of the wolves. I know that makes you hesitant, but your family has nothing to fear from mine. If it is of any comfort to you, Jacob Black should be arriving in a short time to drop off Bella and to make sure you are all unharmed. Once again, you have nothing to fear from us."

"Shall we?" Esme said happily, finally leading the way to the kitchen. Xander was the first to follow, eager to fill his stomach with some home cooking.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Bella looked back and forth between Dawn and Seth. They both had goofy grins on their faces. Was it possible it was love at first sight between these two? Then it suddenly hit her, why hadn't she seen it before? She turned to face Jacob and pulled him off to the side, even further away from the concession stand that they had been standing near. "Seth's a werewolf?"

"Yes," Jacob answered. "Damn it Seth!"

Seth came out of his trance and focused his attention on Jacob. "What did I do?" he asked, walking over to where he stood with Bella. The others followed.

"Every time I freaking turn around, another one of you has imprinted." He looked at Leah. "What, are you next?"

"Wait, Leah's one too?" Bella asked, bewildered. She looked at Leah skeptically.

"Why else do you think I loathe your bloodsucker of a boyfriend and his family?"

"Well Leah? See any guys here you'd like to imprint upon?" asked Jacob roughly.

"No!"

"Are you sure? Did you get a good look at the guy at the snack bar?!"

"Drop it Jacob!" she growled.

"Will you guys just shut-up already?!" Bella said, frustrated.

"Wait a sec," Dawn said suddenly. "Seth's a what?"

"A werewolf, like Jake; and I just imprinted on you," Seth said proudly. He looked back at Jacob. "Hey Jake, I'm better at this wolf stuff than you are!"

"Watch it kid. Just because you…"

"What's imprinting?" Dawn asked, interrupting him.

"It's when one of us wolves finds our perfect match," Seth explained. "The person we are meant to be with. This change comes over us and we just know in an instant."

"So it's like destiny" Dawn said, more as a statement than a question.

"Yeah, that's one way of looking at it," he agreed.

"Cool!" Dawn exclaimed happily. "Buffy can't argue with destiny!"

"The slayer?" asked Seth, not following.

"Yeah, she's my sister, and not to thrilled about me hanging with the supernatural types. That's the only reason I'm here at the movies tonight. She MADE me come with the Wannabes."

Bella snickered. "What made her think hanging out with those awful girls was better than with werewolves and vampires?"

"I'd say hell if I know, but in her experience and line of work, werewolves and vamps are usually the real baddies."

"We should talk to her, you know, explain," Seth suggested enthusiastically. Like you said, how can she argue with destiny?"

"Ooo, can we go now?" Dawn asked excitedly.

"Yeah, hey Jake, can you drive us?" he asked, looking back at him.

Jacob debated for a moment. He wanted to tell him no, he was already irritated that it seemed to be happening, the imprinting thing, for everyone, except him. But even though he didn't know first hand what it felt like to imprint, he knew what it was like for the others who had. He sighed, "Fine." He turned to Leah and Embry, "Can you two phase and run back to the Rez and let Sam know what's up? He may want to get over to the Cullens too."

"Oh hell no!" Leah shouted back angrily. "I'm not leaving to let you take my little brother to a house full of leeches!"

"Hey!" shouted Bella defensively.

"Leah, I'll be fine!"

"You don't know that! I don't trust them."

"They really are nice. I know they wouldn't hurt a fly," Dawn butted in. "Ok, maybe a fly if it provided them with blood, but they would never hurt a human being!"

"But…"  
"Leah, please," pleaded Seth. "If she can trust them, and so can Bella, then so do I."

Leah sighed in defeat. "That's fine, you can go, but I'm coming with," she said firmly, and glaring at Jacob, just begging him to argue.

"Oh great, one big happy family," he said sarcastically. "Fine, Leah, you can come with us, but Embry, can you go let Sam know?"

Embry nodded. "Sure man, I'll give him all the details." With that he turned and quickly left the theater.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"That was very delicious, thank you," Willow said happily.

"Why thank you dear," Esme smiled sweetly. "I'm glad you enjoyed it."

"Imf nemver tated amyting tho gud," Xander mumbled through mouthfuls. Willow kicked his shin under the table, surprising him and making him nearly choke on the food he had in his mouth. "Ow, what was that for?"

"You're being rude."

He smiled sheepishly at Esme. "I'm sorry. It's just, this chicken alfredo pasta is great!"

"It's quite alright," she laughed. "At least I know for sure you are enjoying it." She looked as his nearly empty plate. "Would you care for some more?"

Xander's eye got big and he nodded eagerly as Esme took his plate to serve him some more.

"Now, onto the topic at hand," said Giles. "I'm very curious to hear more about this legend Buffy told me about, Carlisle."

"Oh yes," he said turning his attention back towards the Watcher. "Well, I have pretty much acquainted you with the basics, but there might be more information that may be of use in my books upstairs in my office, if you would like to follow me there. I would be very happy to tell you anything I can about my family and I. How we became who we are."

"Thank you," Giles said, rising from his seat and beginning to follow the doctor out of the kitchen. "I'm rather curious about your kind's transformation, and the differences between you and the vampires we are used to."

"Giles is in factoid heaven," Xander remarked as the two left the room.

"Here you are," Esme said, setting his plate back on the table. "Would anyone else care for some more?"

They all shook their heads. "No thanks," said Buffy," I really think if I ate anymore, I'd burst," she laughed. She stretched and rose from her seat also.

"Maybe I should go join them," she said as she began to make her way to the next room, she stopped dead in her tracks as Edward let out a low growl. She spun around to face him. "Excuse me?!"

Alice was the first to answer. "Those stupid wolves just wiped away my entire plans for the rest of the evening."

"So Jacob's here with Bella then, right?" asked Vi.

"You may want to wait a moment before you join your Watcher," said Edward finally.

"Why's that?" Buffy was confused. Why should she need to wait for Bella, she had already met her before, and her friend Jacob Black too.

Edward said nothing, but went to the front door to answer it. Buffy quickly followed, along with Willow, Kennedy and Alice.

"Hello my love," Edward said as he let Bella and the others in. "I trust you had a good time in La Push?"

"Dawn? What are you doing here?" Buffy asked once she caught sight of her sister walking through the door. "You're supposed to be at the movies."

"Oh, I was, that's why I'm here."

Buffy looked at her sister confusingly. She didn't know what she was getting at. Suddenly she noticed the boy beside her and their hands entwined between them. "Uh, would you mind explaining to me what the heck is going on? And who is this?"

Dawn smiled happily. "It's destiny."

"His name's Destiny?"  
"No," she laughed in response. "His name is Seth, but this," she said raising their hands together, "is destiny."

"I'm not sure I'm following."

"It would seem your sister has fallen for a werewolf," Edward answered.

"You what?!" she asked angrily. "I thought I told you I wanted you to make some normal friends."

"But I was perfectly safe," Dawn said in defense.

"No sister of mine is dating a werewolf, they're too dangerous!" she shouted back.

"Uh, excuse me," Willow butted in unexpectedly and raising a hand in the air. "Dated a werewolf for three years."

"You knew another female werewolf?" Leah asked in surprise.

"Actually it was a guy. It started when I was in high school, when I was rebellious and experimental," she added with a smirk.

Buffy shook her head. "And didn't Oz try to kill you at one point, in our freshman year of college?"

"That was his own fault Buffy, he left me. He was jealous, but I couldn't just wait for him to come back."

"My point exactly, they are unpredictable."  
"But I love him!" Dawn exclaimed aggravated.

"You love him? You don't even know him!"

"He's all I want. I can't explain why, or how, but I feel it. I'd feel incomplete without him. We're a perfect match."

"Ok, I have tried to stay out of this, but being Seth's older sister, I must say something," Leah said, looking at Buffy.

"I'm sorry, I know I sound like a big prejudice ass, but I'm just worried about her safety. Dawn is the only blood family I have left."

"I understand," Leah said. "I feel the same way. I know it sounds crazy, but even though I've never personally felt love as strong as the love my brother feels for your sister, but I do understand it. We werewolves have no choice in the matter. When we imprint…"

"Huh?" Willow asked confusingly. "What do you mean?"

"For generations, when one of us finds our one true love, like our soul mate, it's like the earth moves, or stops moving. Everything falls away but you and that one person, your perfect match; and the only thing that matters anymore is that person and their safety and happiness."

Buffy looked baffled. "This just doesn't make any sense. You're saying, no one has a choice in this matter? Well you're wrong, I have a choice and I refuse to let this happen."

Leah laughed sarcastically, "Yeah, I'd like to see you try."

"Buffy, it's ok," Bella suddenly added. "Like Dawn said, it's like destiny."

She glared at Bella. "So are you telling me if your sister was…"

"I don't have a sister," Bella interrupted her.

Buffy sighed. "Fine, say you had a…I don't know…daughter, imagine you had a teenage daughter who got imprinted upon, would you be ok with it?!" she challenged.

"Of course."

Buffy looked at her dumbstruck. She couldn't be serious, could she? "You have got to be kidding me."

"I'm serious, look, it's something no one has any control over. It's like they're soul mates. They're meant to be together."

Buffy sat down, trying to process it all. It seemed like ever since they moved to this small town, everything was happening so quickly. She was having a tough time trying to take it all in.


	14. A Tense Confrontation

**_Hello all!_**

**_First off, I know I seriously suck because of my lack of updates and I'm really really really really really REALLY sorry! The first week I missed was because I got a really bad cold and didn't end up touching the story all week because all I really wanted to do while I was sick, was sleep. I'm better now, though this stupid cough is still hanging around and if it's not gone by next week, I'm making a doctor's appointment._**

**_The second week, I admit, I got a bit lazy at the begining of the week, and the second half I found out my aunt was coming for a visit that weekend so I spent the rest of the week cleaning and doing all that "fun" get the house ready for company stuff. Then, obviously, with her and my uncle here, I didn't want to ditch them to sit on the computer typing, I wanted to visit with them._**

**_Now ch 14 is finally finished, I'm happy to say, and I'm actually on a roll writting wise, so I expect to update the next chapter by Sunday night, Oct. 4th, at the latest, to help make up for my lack of posting. Also, time permitting, I'm planning on starting to upload a Buffy/Angel crossover fic I wrote a few years back. It's basicly about Buffy finding out about Conner and her reaction to it._**

**_Ok, now onto some good stuff: I wanna send out a great big thanks and shoutout to my reviewers: iNSOMNIAC-rEADER-2010, J for Jenny, Crystle, SethCohenRocks-2009, Commander Ael, Kyra Gwin, and Aria DeLoncray! You guys are all awsome!_**

**_Also wanna thank the people who added my story and/or account to their faves and/or updates. It's great to know you are all anxiously awaiting more. Once again I appologize to you all for the delay in updates!_**

**_I swear, Friday will be ending soon, I know it's been spanning quite a few chapters, but with everything I had planned, Friday ended up being a very crucial day. Also, anyone who KNOWS Eclipse, you'll soon see that this story and that will start to meet up very soon as well. In other words, the events in this story are gonna match up with those in the book, just basicly rewritten with the Buffy characters added in._**

**_Ok, now I can leave you with the next chapter, I hope you all enjoy._**

**_P.S. Reviews make me feel as giddy as I am knowing I have my tickets for the midnight showing of New Moon! TEAM EDWARD! :)_**

_**I do NOT own the characters of Buffy or Twilight, just the very talented Joss Whedon and Stephenie Meyer do.**_

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CHAPTER 14- A Tense Confrontation

"I must say this is quite impressive," Giles said in awe as he took a look around Carlisle's office.

"Thank you, I appreciate it," replied Carlisle, crossing the room. "Please, have a seat," he indicated the chair in front of his desk. "I must say, your composure in being here, alone with me is quite a surprise. Most people would not feel comfortable in the presence of a vampire."

"That is true," he answered, taking a seat. "But as you said before, you and your family are nothing to fear. Plus, I trust Buffy's judgment, and while she claims to be awaiting approval from me on this subject, I believe she has already made up her mind to trust you all. And when Buffy makes up her mind, there is no changing it."

"That must make it problematic at times. If you are supposed to be her Watcher, I mean. From what I understand, isn't she supposed to be taking orders from you?"

"Guidance is what a Watcher is required to give, not necessarily orders. We are to give the Slayer the tools she needs to fight and overcome what she will face. With Buffy I more or less learned to allow her to take the lead at times, learn from her mistakes and take things from there. I wouldn't say she's stubborn that way, but…well…ok, maybe I would," Giles laughed.

"And that doesn't bother you?" Carlisle questioned.

"It used to, yes, but not anymore. Since I've known Buffy in the last several years, I've learned that's just part of who she is. As I said before, while she tends to jump to conclusions at times, she's very rarely wrong."

"Hmm, sounds quite a lot like Alice. Though at times we think it's just her knack of thinking positively, I think she really does have a good sense of things. As does Edward, though that comes easier because he can read minds."

"And what do they say about this theory of yours, on the difference between the vampires we are accustomed with and your kind?"

Carlisle sighed, "I know Edward is skeptical of the tale, but it's the closest thing that makes sense in any of these books." He swept his arm across the room, indicating the many books lining the shelves. "I've been through them all many many times, I've had plenty of time to memorize them all by heart," he chuckled, "and the ones I have that reference vampire mythology at all seem centered more in the fantastical side, which, according to you and Buffy is more truth than fiction as well. For centuries our kind has believed those stories to be fictional." He picked up and handed Giles the book that had been sitting on the desk between them. "This is the book that contains the tale that I believe explains where we come from, however, you are free to peruse all of the books here in my study, and the ones I have in my office at the hospital."

Giles flipped the book back and forth in his hand. "Is there anything in here that talks about your souls at all? It's another thing I wondered about…"

"Ah yes," Carlisle interrupted. "Another discussion we may have to put off till a bit later, for now I think we should join the rest of the party downstairs, there is a bit of a disagreement going on and I think we should try and settle it." He rose from his seat and began to walk to the door.

'How do you know…Oh yeah, super hearing," he laughed lightly. Giles got up from his seat as well and followed him out of the room. He felt a sense of ease while talking with Carlisle, and trusted that they would get to finish their conversation later, as promised.

As they approached the top of the stairs, Giles could hear a female voice talking. "It's something no one has any control over. It's like they're soul mates. They're meant to be together."

Giles watched as Buffy took a seat on the couch and looked at the ground, lost in thought.

"What's going on here?" he finally asked.

"Giles!" Dawn exclaimed rushing over to him. "Maybe you can talk some sense into her, she just doesn't understand."

"Understand what?"

"It would seem this boy here, Seth, has fallen for Dawn and vise versa," Edward explained. "Buffy's aversion to the idea is the fact that Seth is a werewolf like Jacob."

Giles looked back and forth between Dawn and the boy Edward had pointed to. "I'm a bit confused still."

"It's more than just falling for someone," Seth said angrily. "It's deeper than that!"

"He CLAIMS to have imprinted on her," Buffy finally said, looking up again.

"He's not just claiming, he really has," said Leah defensively.

"And what on earth is imprinting?"

Jacob sighed, "We seriously have to explain all of this again?!"

Giles glared at him. How could he be so rude? "Excuse me, but in case you haven't noticed, I was upstairs this entire time with Carlisle, so I just walked into the middle of this conversation."

"You were alone with him?" Jacob asked angrily. He glared at Edward. "You left him alone with him?!"

"I know what you're thinking Jacob, and I assure you, he was quite safe in his presence."

"We should never have gone to the stupid movies after the bonfire," Jacob said angrily. "We should have come straight here."

"But then Dawn and I wouldn't have met Jake!" Seth piped up.

"That's not the point kid, if you imprinted on her, you two would have met at some point in time, WE should have been here."

"What seems to be the trouble over here?" Esme asked sweetly, finally joining everyone in the room.

"Oh great, let's just start a great big party over here," Jacob said angrily.

"Hey!" Alice said defensively. "You better watch your manners dog! You ARE guests in our home, remember that."

Jacob rolled his eyes in frustration. "Yeah, yeah whatever you say pixie stick."

Buffy rose from her spot on the couch, "Ok guys, let's all just calm down, ok? I'm trying to make sense of this all."

Leah sighed, "The whole imprinting thing is this: it's almost like love at first sight, but not, it's more than that. It's when one of us finds our soul mate. When we see our mate, we just know, and Seth has found Dawn."

Giles look slightly confused. "You mean to say, they belong together? But how can that be?"

"We don't know for sure why it happens. Jake's dad thinks it's to make stronger werewolves, Sam, the Alpha of our pack, believes it's to better pass along the wolf gene."

"And you've all experienced this?" Giles asked.

"No," Jacob said with a huff. "Never happened to me, and never will."

"What, like you're the only one that won't?" Leah asked angrily. "You think it's a picnic for me to see my little brother imprint before me, or at all? It's never going to happen for me either, so get over it!"

"Leah, relax," Bella said softly, trying to help the situation.

Leah glared at her. "What?! Like Jake is the only one that can mope about all this? You think it isn't hard for me too?"

"I know it must be tough but…"

"Don't you stand there and say you know what it's like. You're the LAST person who could ever understand, you AND your bloodsucker boyfriend!" she growled at her.

Edward jumped in front of Bella, protecting her and Jacob instinctively jumped in front of Leah, trying to block her from attacking. While he didn't like the Cullens, he still cared for Bella deeply and didn't want to hurt her.

"Wumt goun un?" Xander mumbled, with a mouth full of garlic bread and another piece in hand, as he entered the room.

"Xander, could you be any more disgusting?" Willow asked.

He swallowed what was in his mouth in a big gulp. "Sorry, what can I say, Esme can cook! Now, what I was trying to say was: what's going on? What's all the yelling for?"

"Dawn's in love with a werewolf," Kennedy said irritably.

"She what?" Xander asked dumbstruck. He glanced at Dawn who was standing next to a young boy, holding his hand.

"You have something against werewolves?!" Leah asked angrily, trying to get around Jacob who was still blocking her from Bella and Edward. Frustrated, she hit Jake squarely in his back hard, making him stumble. She growled as she pushed past him and straight towards Xander. She was a foot away when she stopped dead in her tracks. At first she wasn't sure why, but in that instant, time seemed to stop.

Xander stood there, locked in the woman's gaze, letting the piece of garlic bread fall from his hand and land on the carpet. His mouth hung open in shock, trying to figure out this new feeling. He didn't even know this person, but he felt drawn to her.

"You have GOT to be kidding me!" Jacob yelled as he straightened up and looked over at the two.

"What now?" Buffy asked confusingly. Her eyes bounced back and forth between Xander and Leah. She was trying to make sense of the look in their eyes. It was almost like they wanted to eat each other. "I don't get it. What's going on?"

"Freaking Leah imprinted too!" Jacob said angrily. He threw his hands up in the air. "This is JUST great! I can't believe this is happening!"

"She what?!" Buffy asked. Was he right? Was this really happening? Not one, but two of them in their group were falling for werewolves? What were the odds of that happening? She had hoped Xander would be the one to stand by her on this, but it looked like she was wrong.

"Maybe we should all just sit down and calmly talk about this." Esme said sweetly. "After all, we've managed to coexist with the wolves fairly well, all these years, perhaps it will all be ok."

Buffy rose from her seat. "I'm just confused, I need time to take all this in. I'm sorry Esme, you have been a great host, but I think it's best if we left."

Xander suddenly came back to reality and finally tore his eyes from Leah and faced Buffy. "Buff, you don't understand, they're cool. They're safe."

Buffy pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to get rid of the headache she was starting to get. "Xander, you just met her, so please don't start. Can we just go home?"

Dawn let go of Seth's hand and walked over to her sister, putting a hand on her back. "Buffy, don't you see what's happening? It's fate, it was meant to be, there's nothing any of us can do about it, and I don't want anything else, I want him."

Buffy looked her sister in the eye, trying to read her emotions. She knew she was being a hypocrite, she'd dated a mystical creature before, a vampire in fact, two different ones, and they're kind were the ones she had been born and trained to kill.

Everything was just happening to fast. It seemed like ever since they arrived in this small town, the creatures of the night seemed to find them. Was it really going to be ok? Was it really safe for Dawn to be that close to this boy? And what of Xander? Was he destined to be with a mystical creature for the rest of his life? She needed to think fast.

"Might I make a suggestion?" Giles finally asked, trying to ease the tension. "Perhaps Buffy's right…"

"But.." Dawn interrupted him.

"I mean about heading home. There is obviously a lot we all have to think about. What this all means, and what we are all going to do about it." He held up his hand, stopping Dawn from protesting again. "I'm saving full judgement for later, we have dealt with other mystical forces in the past that have been a great asset to our mission, but the final decision is Buffy's; she is your guardian after all. However, Xander," he said looking at him, "Is old enough to make his own decisions on this matter."

Xander stood there, glancing back and forth between this woman he felt a strong pull towards, and Giles.

He always looked up to Giles, even if he didn't always show it. But while part of him agreed with him that they should all go home to take time to process all of this, there was still that other part of him that wanted to stay and get to know this woman a bit more.

He took a quick glance at Buffy, who still appeared to be nursing a headache. Xander sighed, "Ok, I guess you're right, maybe we should go home for now and talk this through."

"You're siding with Buffy?!" Dawn asked suddenly. If it was true that Leah had imprinted on him, how could he be willing to leave her side now? "Xander, but…"

"I don't like it any more than you do Dawnie, but maybe we should cut Buff some slack. This can't be easy for her, she doesn't understand what this pull we feel is like. How right it feels."

Dawn was quiet for a moment as she pondered what Xander had said. It did sort of make sense. Sadly, she nodded her head in agreement. He had a point. This whole feeling of belonging to someone and that person belonging to you was very new and confusing, even if it did feel so right.


	15. Conversations In The Night

**_Hello all again! As you see, as promised, though a little late tonight, is the next chapter._**

**_I wanna give a shout out to the couple reviewers who left me comments within the last coupe of days, so thanks to J for Jenny, Sateda, TheAngelOfHope, Aria DeLoncray, and Sailor Light37. You guys are amazing!_**

**_I won't leave a really long message so you can get on to reading, but I will say that now that this chapter is up, I'm hopefully going to be on track now and can post the next chapter on Saturday. Yay for being back on schedule! _**

**_Ok guys, here it is, Ch.15, I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did writting it! :) Happy reading!_**

**_P.S. Reviews make me feel like I'm watching Edward sparkle in the sun!_**

_**I do NOT own the characters of Buffy or Twilight, just the very talented Joss Whedon and Stephenie Meyer do.**_

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**CHAPTER 15- Conversations In The Night**

The ride home was a silent one. Everyone's minds were swimming with the events from the evening. Dawn with thoughts on how she could convince Buffy to let her see Seth, who unbeknownst to Buffy was actually running through the woods, headed to their house as well to spend time with Dawn once Buffy went to sleep.

Xander was trying to come to terms with him being drawn to this woman he didn't know. He got her number before they left and knew he would call her later and set up a time to see each other again, but he also didn't want to hurt Buffy because he knew that she didn't like this one bit.

Buffy was trying to cope with what the whole imprinting thing meant and how it could potentially mess everything up. She understood destiny, she understood fate, but where did her sister fit into all of this? Technically she shouldn't exist; initially she was just a key, made from her. If Dawn hadn't been created, would Seth have imprinted on her instead? She wasn't sure she liked the idea of another mystical creature being drawn to her, let alone someone as young as him.

Giles was sitting in the front seat, already flipping through the book that Carlisle had loaned him. While he was concerned about the whole imprinting business, he was far more curious at the thought that another species of vampires even existed. He was anxious to get his hands on the book he asked Andrew to send. They had to go back to the airport tomorrow evening to pick it up from the person bringing it. It was the safest and quickest way they knew to get it here. Buffy was right at suggesting not letting the rest of the council know about what was going on just yet, so when she had mentioned it, he didn't argue.

Willow, Kennedy, and Vi followed in the car behind them. All three of them were as silent as their friends in the car in front. Even without Buffy in their car, they still felt oddly on edge. No one seemed eager to talk about anything, probably figuring there was going to be enough of that when they got home.

Kennedy didn't like the thought of joining forces with all these creatures. She had a tough enough time trusting Spike back in Sunnydale, despite Buffy's assurances that he was good. She was certain Buffy would stand her ground on this topic though. After all, how could she simply allow her younger sister to associate with werewolves?

Willow knew of Kennedy's feelings on all of this. She was certain of it. It upset her a bit to know she was against coexisting with the werewolf and vampire population in town. True, in general they were the enemy, but in all her time as being the friend of a slayer, she knew there was always the exception to the rule. Some creatures could be trusted. Willow silently prayed she could convince her of that. It also made her wonder what she thought of her dating Oz in the past.

Vi, well she was indifferent on the whole subject. She liked talking to Alice, she seemed friendly enough, and Esme was really nice, so she figured the whole family had to be nice. As for the imprinting thing, she was confused by it but figured that if fate had a hand in it, then it must be right. Fate lead her to be a slayer, why shouldn't it work in other aspects of life?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Not a word," Buffy said to Dawn as they all walked through the front door.

Giles put a hand on her shoulder. "You can't postpone this discussion any longer Buffy. You're going to have to decide what to do."

"Giles, I'm sorry, but right now, all I really want to do is slip into my yummy sushi pajamas, grab Mr. Gordo and go to sleep."

"Buffy…" Willow began.

"Guys, there is just too much to think about, can't I just sleep on it?"

"Look Buff, I know it's difficult to understand," Xander began. "I would react the same way, I'm sure, if I didn't feel this drawn to Le…La...Leah, that's it Leah."

Buffy laughed, "You see, you don't even know her name Xander, why should it matter anyways?"

"It matters because I love her."

Buffy looked at him confusingly. "You what?"

"I love her. I can't explain why, I can't explain exactly when it happened, because now it feels like I've know this all along. Like I've known her my whole life, maybe even better than I know you and Will."

"You couldn't even remember her name."

"I know. I know, it's crazy, I get this. But you have got to relax. These feelings I have for her are strong. I can't just deny it, and I understand why Dawn can't either."

"So I should just allow her to run off with a pack of werewolves while I sit here worrying about her safety?"

"Uh, I'm sitting right here!" Dawn piped up.

"Can I say something?" Willow asked calmly. Buffy nodded, hoping she would stand by her side. "Maybe Xander and Dawn are right, they can't be that bad."

"Willow…"

"Hear me out Buff, you liked Oz, in the beginning, right?"

"What does Oz have to do with any of this?"

"Need I remind you he was a werewolf? Yeah he went a little GRR for three days a month, but let's face it, I'm not all that great to be around three days a month either," she said meekly. "You and Oz seemed to get along fairly well, that is before I had to tranquilize him. After that, the only times we had to be careful of him were the night of the full moon and the two nights surrounding it."

Kennedy huffed as she took a seat on the couch and crossed her arms across her chest.

Willow looked at her in shock. "Why does it upset you baby? He was just like any other guy, just…well…a werewolf too. Or is it the fact that he was a guy?"

"Did you just crack a joke?" Xander said slyly, hoping to lighten the mood.

"Sure, yeah, it's all ha ha ha to you buddy. It's not the guy thing. Heck I can live with her liking you at one point, you were her best friend growing up, so there's the whole bonding, but this werewolf thing, I'm just lost."

Willow sat next to her and took her hand in hers. "Will you listen to yourself? You are so impossible." Kennedy looked at her confusingly. "I love you now, so no worries there, plus, the whole werewolf thing, that's ancient history for me. Did Leah imprint on me? No, she imprinted on Xander. If he really loves her, I back him 100%."

"But they're killers, and that is what I can't wrap my head around." With that Kennedy rose from her seat and stormed out of the room and up the stairs.

Willow sighed, "I better go after her and calm her down." She looked over at Buffy. "I'm sorry, but that's just how I feel. I know as a Watcher I shouldn't feel this way, but I trust Xander's judgment on this."

"Yeah, but he's not the best expert on this. Let's see, shall we count them off?" She said, beginning to count out on her fingers, "There was Natalie French, the She-Mantis; Ampata, the mummy; Cordelia, who let's face it was terrible to us in high school; Anya, may she rest in peace, who was a revenge demon; and there's…"

"Ok, ok, we get the point," Xander said, interrupting her. "But Will knows me. When deep down something really feels truly right, it has to be real." Willow nodded in agreement.

"But…" Buffy started.

"No buts, that's how I feel. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go talk to Kennedy," said Willow. She bid everyone goodnight and left the room herself.

"Vi, maybe you better head to bed as well, it's getting late," suggested Xander.

"What?" she questioned.

"There's still a lot of training we need to do and I want to start bright and early tomorrow because I plan to call Leah and make plans to see her later in the afternoon. It's been a long day."

Vi got up and sighed in annoyance. "Whatever, just for the record though, I was on your side," she said as she left the room as well.

"Now that was odd," said Dawn. "I figured she'd be on Buffy's side."

"Well, with that said, I'm heading to bed too," Buffy said heading towards the stairs.

"Buffy, you can't just leave things as they are right now," said Giles, stopping her in her tracks. "You need to make a decision here."

"Not tonight. I get it, it's fate, but I still need time." Buffy looked over to her sister. "I'm sorry, but I'll let you know what I decide in the morning." With that Buffy headed upstairs as well, and to her small yet comfy bed.

She was slightly surprised that the others didn't put up too much of a fight about her wanting to go to bed, but it could have perhaps been their way of hoping that if they let her go, she'd be in a better mood in the morning and everything would be alright again.

She pulled on her pajamas and climbed in between the sheets. She was tired, and the day had been extremely long. As she let her eyes flutter close, he mind was swimming with the decision she had to make.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"You made it!" Seth said happily as Dawn quietly closed the front door behind her.

"Shh, Buffy may be asleep, but I'm not sure if everyone else is."

"Oh, sorry," he whispered back. He walked over and took Dawn's hand. "I'm glad you were able to sneak past her."

Dawn smiled, "Yeah, well once Buffy's out she's out. She won't wake-up till morning, I'm sure of it."

They walked hand in hand towards the car parked in the driveway. Dawn pulled the keys out of her pocket and unlocked the door so they could get in. As they climbed into the back seat, Dawn shivered at the cold. Seth reached his arm out and put it around her shoulder, holding her close. The heat radiating from his body warmed her instantly.

"Thanks, that feels a lot better," she said smiling at him.

"Just call me your personal space heater," he said proudly with a grin. "The high body temperature can come in very handy."

"I'm glad you came, and I'm sorry my sister's making it hard on us being able to see each other."

"It's ok, I totally get it."

"You do?"

"Yeah, it's tough for her to see you with someone who she basically wants to kill. I don't like it, but I get it."

"How's that?"

"It's the same way Jake feels about Bella, though you have to add on top of that his feelings for her, but still."

"But how can you know that?"

"It's a wolf thing. When we change, we are inside each other's minds. We can see what each other is thinking and feeling. Comes in really handy if we are in a fight. Makes it easier to coordinate our attack."

"Oh."

"You see with Jake, he just sees Edward as a threat, more so because he's a vampire. Bella is with his mortal enemy. Though personally, I don't find anything wrong with the Cullens."

She looked up at him. "You don't?"

"Nope, I like them, so far."

"What do you mean so far?"

"Well, I only just met them tonight, when we went down there. But Esme seemed alright, very motherly. And if that food she made tasted as good as it smelled, then she's ok in my book. If she's ok, then the rest of them must be, that's the way I see it."

"Well, I think Buffy is ok with them too. Seems kinda hypocritical to me though. Why should she be fine with us hanging out with them, then you guys. After all, she's a vampire slayer, emphasis on the vampire."

"But didn't she date one, or two in the past?" he asked.

"Jake told you about that huh?"

"Well, not so much as told as we saw the conversation in his head."

Dawn sighed. "Yeah, she did. But Angel was good. He has a soul, and so does Spike, or rather he did. And aside from Spike trying to rape her at one point I think they really truly loved each other. Maybe not as much as she loved Angel, but still great in it's own way."

"You two must be close, to know so much about her."

"No, I just like reading her diary," she laughed. "Mostly we're at each other's throats. You know, the whole sibling rivalry thing."

"Now THAT I can understand; I get that with Leah. Maybe she'll back off a bit now that she has…I'm sorry, what's that guy's name?"

Dawn laughed, "Xander."

"Yeah, him; maybe she'll get off my back a bit more, he can occupy her time more," he said with a chuckle.

"You know, I used to have the hugest crush on him."

"You did? When was this?"

"Hmm," she thought, "probably up until the moment I met you." She smiled sweetly at him.

"Are you sure you don't still have feelings for him?" he teased.

"Nope, completely all gone. It's just you."

Seth laughed. "Well that's good news. Not that I can't handle the competition, but, it's nice to know I'm the only one you do like."

"What about you? Is there anyone else you like? There isn't some girl I have to kick out of the way?" she laughed uneasily. She knew what she felt for Seth was strong, but she worried he may have had a girlfriend already, he seemed too good to be true.

He shook his head slowly as he looked into her eyes. "Not at all, you Dawn, are the only one I see." With that he put his finger under her chin and tilted her face up to his and kissed her softly on the lips.

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**_Yes, as you can see, I just had to add a little of the fluff at the end. Don't worry, there will be more to come. Thank goodness that Friday will be officially over in the next chapter. There is more to Seth and Dawn's convo in the car that I wanted to add, but I figured right after the kiss was a good place to close this chapter._**

**_Anyways, please let me know what you all think, I'd really really appreciate it! :)_**


	16. Inevitable Decisions

_**Hello fellow Buffy and Twilight fans!**_

_**Sorry about the delay, but I finally have the chapter ready for your reading pleasure, so yay! LOL!**_

_**First off, as always, I wanna thank J for Jenny and Sateda for the reviews on my last chapter. You guys are awsome, I love reading your reviews. They always seem to make me smile and assure me that I'm not writting for just myself, but for people like you who are enjoying the tale that is forming in my mind. :)**_

**_Also, thanks to those wo have either favorited my story or added it to your upates. I am now up to 57 people adding it to their alerts and 31 people favoriting it. Thank you all so much!_**

**_I really hope you all like this next chapter. I did add a little more of the Seth/Dawn fluff, and as you'll also see, Friday will FINALLY be over this chapter, so yay! LOL! Friday was a long day. I assure you all though, there is more action, drama, and fluff to come! :)_**

**_And now, onto the wonderful chapter!_**

**_P.S. Reviews are about as awsome as Michael Buble's new cd!_**

_**I do NOT own the characters of Buffy or Twilight, just the very talented Joss Whedon and Stephenie Meyer do.**_

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CHAPTER 16- Inevitable Decisions

It was tough to explain the intensity of Dawn's feelings with Seth's lips on hers. Before the kiss, going back to the first moment they had met, Dawn had been drawn to him. There was no explanation, and in her heart, no explanation was necessary. But when he kissed her, it felt like she was on a cloud, soaring high above the small town of Forks. She felt safe with him.

Their lips parted and a large grin spread across her face. She kept her eyes closed, half afraid that if she had opened them, he will have disappeared and this would have all been a dream.

"Wow, I take that smile on your face as a good sign, that I'm not a bad kisser," Seth chuckled.

Her eyes fluttered open and she was happy to see he was still there, sitting with his arms wrapped around her shoulder. She looked at him quizzically. "Why would you say that?"

His face fell slightly. "Oh…was it really that bad?" he asked uncertainly. "It was, after all, my first kiss, but I thought that went pretty well."

Dawn suddenly felt bad; she had just been taken aback at his question. "No, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it that way. I think it went…well…pretty well too. I was just shocked there was any doubt. I thought, maybe you had done that before."

"Nope, you would be my first, and now last," he said happily. "Why, have you ever kissed a guy before?"

Dawn blushed at the thought. The only kiss she ever experienced was not mixed with happy memories. "Technically, yes, but he was more vampire than guy, if that makes any sense."

"Dating vampires must be a thing with you Summer's girls then," he half joked.

"Well, I didn't know he was a vampire at the time. In my defense, my friend Janice is the one that introduced us, and Justin, he was well…older, but I didn't know in THAT way, and…"

Seth cut her off by kissing her softly on the lips once again.

"Right, shut-up," Dawn chuckled when they parted again.

"Not that I don't love hearing you talk, it's just, I'd rather not hear about the ex," he laughed.

"Not ex, just kissed him and…" Dawn stopped herself from babbling and sighed. "Sorry."

Seth laughed again. "It's ok, this is all new to me too. I've never even had a girlfriend before, crushes yes, but what teenager doesn't, nothing ever comes from them. And now, to feel so connected with you. My future is sown up now, and I'm fine with that, it feels right, and I know deep down it will always be that way, it's a little overwhelming."

She nodded in agreement, "I agree, that's why I wish Buffy could understand how it is. Then maybe she'd see there is no fighting this."

"Speaking of your sister and her wanting to fight this, maybe I better let you get back inside before she notices your gone."

"No!" she shouted, "Not yet. It's still fairly early, can we just sit here for a little while longer?"

"Of course," he said as he held her tighter to keep her warm. How could he refuse the girl he loved?

Dawn snuggled closer and laid her head on his shoulder, and smiled, lost in thought about how happy she was at this very moment.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Buffy stood next to the coffee machine and tapped her foot impatiently. It was early and she was in desperate need of some caffeine after the crazy day they had all had.

It seemed like everything was moving so fast. All the memories the monks had given them about Dawn seemed to suddenly flood her mind. Seeing her little sister's eyes light up on Christmas morning that one year, when she had opened the gift Buffy had meticulously saved up her allowance for weeks for, a Barbie convertible. Or the time Dawn had her first dance recital and she had tripped on stage and how much she cried of embarrassment and Buffy, being the big protective sister rushed to help her stand and comfort her, despite the people yelling at her to get off the stage. And of all the tantrums she used to throw when she didn't get her way, or rather how she still did it. Buffy chuckled at the thought.

True all these memories had been fabricated, just as Dawn had been, but they still felt real, and they still seemed just a short time ago. She knew deep down that her sister would grow up quickly, given the types of demons they had to face, both emotional and physical; but never in her wildest dreams, did she imagine her little sister getting entangled with the mystical forces surrounding them. It didn't seem right.

"You know, tea is a bit more soothing than coffee," Giles interrupted her thoughts, as he walked into the kitchen.

She laughed, "I haven't even had any yet, still waiting for it to brew. And the caffeine is very necessary in order to keep me a functioning adult throughout the day."

Giles walked over to the table and took a seat. "And are you under the assumption that the coffee will tell you what to do about the Dawn and Seth situation?"

"It was a small hope, yes," she joked. "How could ya tell?"

"Buffy, I've known you long enough to know when something is troubling you. And by the look on your face, I take it you have yet to make up your mind about this."

She shook her head. "That's a big N-O. I mean, I understand the whole fate thing, but does she really need to grow up so fast? Does her future have to be decided already?"

"There was a time you wondered that about your own future. When you first found out you were the Slayer."

"But that's different," she said as she poured herself some of the coffee that had just finished brewing. "I was destined to be the Slayer. No matter what I did, I couldn't escape my destiny."

"Maybe this is her destiny," he offered.

"Giles, she shouldn't even exist. I know that's a harsh thing to say, but it's true. I keep thinking that this will all magically make sense in an instant, but it hasn't yet. How can I sit back and watch my little sister make the same mistakes I did?"

Giles chuckled, "Did I miss something? When did you ever date a werewolf?"

"Ok, so not a werewolf, but you know what I mean; a supernatural creature."

"You can't always protect her from making the wrong choices in life. How else is she going to be able to learn from her mistakes if you don't let her make a few? Besides, who says this is a mistake? Just because we don't fully understand the implications of this whole thing, maybe there is something to it? Perhaps this is the right choice for her?"

She sighed, "I just don't want her to get her heart broken like I did. Have him get up and leave when things get too crazy. When the supernatural stuff gets in the way."

"Hey, supernatural stuff isn't all that bad," Xander said happily as he joined them in the kitchen. He crossed to the counter and poured himself some coffee as well.

"Says the one eyed Watcher in the room," Buffy said jokingly.

"Ok, so Caleb and the first were bad, but come on, you gotta admit, Seth seems like an ok guy to be around. A little hyper maybe, but in a good way."

"I never said I have anything against Seth."

"And yet you don't want Dawn to spend time with him."

Buffy sighed, "It's not the whole spending time thing that bothers me, it's the having her whole life sown up like this. Why should her fate be determined so soon?"

Xander laughed. "I may not be the best expert when it comes to destinies and fate, but even I know that no matter when it finds you, it will always be set in stone, probably even before you're born. So if Seth is who she is meant to be with, why should she have to wait to find him?"

Buffy nodded. "I guess you're right. There really is nothing I can do. I'm still fairly hesitant about it all, I just don't want them to move too fast, ya know? I think I'll let them see each other, for now, and see how things go, I guess."

"That's very generous of you Buff," Xander laughed. "I think no matter what you decided, Dawn would have tried to see him either way. So you might as well just go with the flow." He smiled happily as he took a sip of his coffee.

"I take it then, that you are going to start seeing Leah?" Giles asked. Buffy and Xander looked at him quizzically. It wasn't in Giles' nature to be that interested in their personal lives. Reading the expression on their faces, he continued, "I mean of course purely for information purposes. We are after all dealing with mystical forces at work. I'd like to look a little more into this notion of imprinting."

"Never thought we'd have this much research to do in such a small town, did ya Giles?" Buffy said jokingly. "First sparkling vampires, now imprinting werewolves."

"Not entirely, no. But I did figure whatever we are facing in Seattle might make its way here in more way than one. Though from meeting our new friends, I doubt they have anything to do with the killings."

Just then, Willow, Kennedy, and Vi walked into the kitchen as well; the two slayers each shouldering a crossbow.

"You ready to go?" Willow asked.

Xander nodded as he drank the last of his coffee. "Yep, all set."

"Not that I'm worried at all because I've had a crossbow shot at me before, but where on earth do you plan to train them to use those?" Giles asked hesitantly.

"When you guys left the kitchen last night, I was talking to Emmett and Jasper about what Willow and I had planned to do today. They suggested this clearing that they use to play baseball in when there's a storm. They gave me the directions, sounds easy enough to find."

"Why would they play baseball when there's a storm?" Buffy asked.

"I haven't exactly figured that one out, but Emmett said they'd show us if we were up for a game. He said Alice would let us know when she sees a storm is coming."

"Sounds good," Buffy said. "Have fun training in this rain, I'm gonna go wake up Dawn, give her the good news."

"She's not upstairs," Vi replied.

"Wait, she's not in her room?" Buffy asked worriedly.

"Nope, we just assumed she had already come down. Either that or she couldn't sleep and had come down to watch tv. Other than that, we haven't seen her all morning."

"This is not good," Buffy said as she put her mug in the sink. "We need to find her."

Giles got up from his seat. "Any idea where we should start?"

"Maybe she went to see Seth," Willow suggested.

"La Push is too far of a walk," answered Xander. "I checked with Leah this morning when I called her. She said it would be best if I drive when I go down there this afternoon. I was hoping you'd say Dawn could see Seth Buffy, cause I wanted to take her with me so she could."

"Ok, everyone spread out, she couldn't have gone very far, she can't drive," ordered Buffy.

They all agreed. Vi and Kennedy rushed back upstairs to search all the rooms once more, Willow and Xander went out the back and Buffy and Giles went out the front. They didn't want to chance missing her anywhere.

"I can't believe she'd do this," she moaned as they stepped out into the rain. "Why would she just take off like that?"

"She's a teenager Buffy, she's going to rebel."

"Yeah, the only problem with that is when she rebels, bad things can happen. Remember the time we all were trapped inside the house and couldn't get out?"

"I wasn't there, remember? But I do remember you telling me about the night in question. Besides, how was she to know her counselor was a vengeance demon?"

Buffy ignored his question and glanced over to the car in the driveway. Was there something in the back seat? It was kind of hard to tell thorough the pouring rain. She rushed over to the door, reached for the handle, and flung the door open.

"DAWN!" she yelled angrily, though she was happy to find her sister was safe.

Dawn was slightly disoriented as she awoke to her sister's voice. "Just ten more minutes Buffy, then I'll get ready for school," she groaned as she tried to roll over onto her side. It was then that she realized she wasn't in her bed. Her eyes flung open as she took in her surroundings. She was still in the back seat with Seth, who oddly enough, was still snoring. It was then she realized they must have fallen asleep.

Dawn pushed hard on Seth's shoulder, trying to shake him. "Seth, wake up, we fell asleep."

He groaned in frustration, not wanting to wake.

"If you know what's good for you, I suggest you get up and out of that car this instant, both of you!" Buffy shouted.

Seth heard her this time and sat up straight. "Oh crap!" he thought. He took his arm from around Dawn's shoulders and they both climbed out of the car.

"You had me worried half to death," Buffy said angrily. "How could you just take off like that?"

"I'm sorry Buffy, but you weren't going to let me see Seth, we knew we had to do something."

"So you thought you'd two have some fun in the back seat?"

"Nothing happened, I swear," answered Seth. We were just going to sit back there and talk for awhile before Dawn went inside to go back to bed. We must have dozed off."

"You what…?"

"It does seem like they are telling the truth," offered Giles. "You didn't want them to see each other, remember?"

"Yeah, but they didn't have to go sneaking off. I don't know, maybe I shouldn't let you see each other anymore."

"What do you mean?" Dawn asked. "You never did…Wait! You decided?" She was starting to get excited.

"I don't know about that now, if you guys aren't going to be making the right choices here. Maybe I should…"

"No, no, NO!" Dawn shouted. "I swear, what Seth said is true. We were just talking. Please oh please don't change your mind now. It was stupid to sneak out, I get that, but we didn't go far. It won't happen again, I swear!"

Buffy sighed and shook her head. "I don't want to find you two sitting in the back seat like that again, you hear? You want to sit and talk, go in the living room, at least then I can keep an eye on you two."

"Thank you thank you thank you!" exclaimed Dawn as she ran over and hugged her sister tightly.

"Yeah yeah, just don't let me regret this."

"I won't, I swear!" Dawn released her sister and turned to Seth. "Let me go shower and get ready, then we can do something fun, ok?"

Seth nodded happily and watched Dawn run up the steps and into the house. He turned to Buffy. "Thank you so much. You have no idea how much this means to me, to both of us."

"Well, if fate plays a part in all of this, I guess there is no use fighting it. But like I said, just don't let me regret this."

"We won't, you have my word. Tell Dawn I'll be back to get her. I'm gonna run home and give Leah the great news!"

"Did you need a ride?" Giles asked. "Xander said that it's rather far."

Seth chuckled. "Not for me it isn't." With that he turned and ran into the trees. As soon as he was out of sight, they heard a wolf howl loudly.

"That was very…grown up of you Buffy," said Giles in a father like tone. "I may not have let them get off so easily for being out here alone and in the back seat like that, but I'm very proud of you for being open minded about their relationship."

"Seems crazy to think of Dawn in a relationship."

"I agree, though I find it funny that you don't seem as concerned about him being a werewolf anymore," Giles said as they walked towards the backyard to tell Willow and Xander what happened.

"Wait, you were the one that said it's fate. That I should be more open to it."

"More open to fate and destines yes, werewolves, I'm not sure. True we have a natural aversion to vampires and yet the Cullen's seem to be very affable…"

"Affable?" she asked confusingly.

"Pleasant, sociable, you know, friendly." Buffy nodded in understanding. "We know even less about the Quileute tribe. Which is why I'd like to do more research. I'd like to sit down with Jacob or even the leader of their pack, Sam, and get a bit more information. I'm hoping when Xander goes down to La Push, I can go with him. Perhaps we can arrange a meeting of sorts. I'm hoping they can give me some more information on the Cullen's as well, find out why they are still apprehensive about them, even when they have proven, in the past, to be what they say they are: 'vegetarian vampires.'"


	17. Dissolving Hostilities?

**_Ok, so I know I seriously suck with my lack of updates. And I could sit here and list all the many reasons why I haven't posted, which are all valid reasons, but just listing them all might seem, to some, like just excuses. So instead I will just appologize profusely for not posting and grovel at everyone's feet. So please please PLEASE forgive me._**

**_I'll make the rest of this quick so you can get to the actual chapter. :)_**

**_I wanna thank my reviewers: JforJenny. Lynzi Wine, Sateda, angelplusbuffyequals4ever, KelleBelle1981, Elle, Icis of Avalon, relhoff, and the one anonymous reviewer I had since the last time I posted. Thanks so much guys! :) I'm glad that those of you who are enjoying it as much as I am, are, lol! If that even made any sense. :)_**

**_I also wanna welcome all the new readers I have acquired since I last posted. HI! :)_**

**_Also gotta do a quick shout out and thanks to my mom for help in naming this chapter. I sat and thought long and hard on what to name it and was coming up empty. The title was like right on the tip of my tounge, it was there in my mind, just couldn't get it out, and with help from my mom, I came up with this. So thanks!_**

**_And now, onto chapter 17!_**

**P.S. Reviews make me feel like I saw Rob come down my chimney, dressed as Santa!**

****

_**I do NOT own the characters of Buffy or Twilight, just the very talented Joss Whedon and Stephenie Meyer do.**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 17- Dissolving Hostilities?**

It was an unusually sunny morning, Bella thought as she rose from her bed. She went to the window and stood there for a moment, basking in the warmth, and sighed.

As much as she would hate to leave Forks, there were still things she missed about Phoenix, the sun being one of them. She had to learn to say goodbye to it though, if not for Edward's sake, but her own. When the time would finally come when she would be changed, she would need to get used to it.

With a heavy heart, she crossed to her closet and opened it. She was surprised once she noticed what was hanging on the back of the door. Right there on the hook, hung very neatly, was her red top, the one that had gone missing a few days before.

It puzzled her. She could have sworn she looked all over for it, how could it just appear out of thin air like that? Confused, she reached out and touched the soft fabric. As she did, it suddenly burst into flames.

She screamed in fright as she jumped back from the door. How was this even possible?

Quickly, she turned and ran down the stairs and into the kitchen to retrieve the small fire extinguisher, under the sink, her father kept for emergencies.

She rushed back up stairs, and into her room. To her astonishment, the fire had not spread as she thought it would have. It seemed to stay only on the top, and began to fizzle out as the fabric slowly burned to ashes. She stood there momentarily, simply dumbstruck as to what just happened.

* * *

Bella awoke with a start and sat straight up in her bed.

"Did I wake you my love?" Edward asked her. He sat there, at the foot of her bed, looking at her with an apologetic look on his face.

She didn't answer at first, but instead threw off the covers and jumped out of bed, rushing to her closet door, and flinging it open.

The shirt wasn't there; it had all been a dream. She sighed with relief.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she said, shaking her head and heading back over to the bed. She sat next to Edward. "I'm fine; I just had a weird dream is all."

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked as he draped an arm around her shoulders.

She shook her head, "No, it's probably nothing. Just all the excitement as of late must be getting to me, I guess."

"Would you like me to tell you some good news to help you get your mind off of it?"

She looked up at him with a twinkle in her eyes. "You've changed your mind and you want to change me right now?" she asked, only half joking, more wishful thinking.

Edward tensed at her side. "We are not discussing your immortality. I…"

"Hey, a girl can dream, can't she?"

"That's something you need to talk about with Carlisle. I will not discuss it with you any further until you agree to marry me."

She groaned," Fine, be stubborn. If it has nothing to do with that, then what's this good news?"

"Well, Alice has informed me that the rain, from today's storm, should let up this afternoon. Perfect conditions for a baseball game in the clearing. Would you like to come? Or are you going to sit her and mope about my conditions to change you?"

She sighed, but perked up a little. She always did love watching the Cullens play. "Only if you'll be there."

"Of course my love," he said, laying a kiss on the top of her head. "We'll also have a few guests, so you'll be well protected."

She looked at him confusingly. "A few guests? Who's coming?"

"Buffy and her family. Emmett was saying Xander seemed eager to join us in a game and he was curious as to why we need the storm to play. Plus, Carlisle thought it would be a nice gesture to invite them, and I agree."

Bella was taken aback. Why would he be so eager to invite them? True, they were all nice enough, but how could he be so welcoming towards them knowing Buffy had wanted to kill Edward at one point?

"Edward, can I ask you a question?"

"You can ask me anything my love."

"Why is it you are ok with me spending time with Buffy and her family, but not the wolves? She's supposedly your enemy too."

Edward rolled his eyes and sighed. "She's never tried to harm us."

She looked mystified. "Uh, you were there the other day right? When Buffy tried killing you with every weapon at her disposal?"

"Ok, so she TRIED to kill me, but not my family. And besides, she didn't succeed did she? I'm still here aren't I?"

"Jake has never tried to kill you either. I think you're being a little hypocritical about all this."

"The point is, Buffy isn't dangerous to you, my family, or me."

"And neither is Jake!" Edward let a low growl escape his lips. "He will never harm me, you have to see that."  
"The wolves are unstable. And despite my better judgment I've already allowed you to spend time with them, haven't I?"

"Only yesterday, for the bonfire. And only so you could try and track whoever it was that was in my room, which, might I add, was a vampire like you."

"Whoever was in your room is nothing like me or my family," he said, angry at being insulted. "I would never hurt you."  
"Neither did they. I slept the entire time they were here, remember? And besides, you DID hurt me you know, when you left me," she said sadly. She hadn't wanted to say it, but it was already about there.

"I will never forgive myself for doing that to you Bella."

"Hey, don't get all sulky on me. I know why you did it. I forgave you already. I'm the mental one who had to go to pieces over it. I was just pointing it out too…"

"But if I hadn't left, you wouldn't have felt the need to befriend him. He was there to fill the whole I left."

"Hey, give me a little credit Edward. That's not the only reason. I was friends with Jake before you left. He's like family to me. I can't just turn my back on him when he's done so much for me," she said, sadness in her eyes.

Edward sighed and pulled her close, kissing the top of her head. "You're right. I'm being prejudiced. I apologize. I just have your well being at heart, I swear."

"I know you do, and I love that you want to protect me, but doesn't it seem like we are always having this same argument? Can't you just trust me on this?"

"I'll try, I promise," he said with a smile. "Now, how can I make it up to you?"

She smiled wickedly. "I know one way," she said as she leaned up and kissed him hard on the lips. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and held him close, trying to deepen the kiss. It was a long shot, she knew it, but it didn't hurt to try. She knew she only had seconds before he'd gently push her away.

He initially responded by kissing her back fervently. But it took him exactly one second to realize what she was doing. He quickly broke the kiss and gently took her arms from around his neck. "Bella, you already know why we can't."

"You said you wanted to make it up to me," she whispered. She tried leaning in to kiss him again, but was held back by his strong arms.

"Anything but that."

"You're no fun," she said with a pout.

"It's too dangerous. Even more than you can imagine. You don't understand how fragile you are to me."

She heaved a sigh. She knew it, but it wasn't going to stop her from trying.

"Is there any other way I can make it up to you?"

She thought for a second, then suddenly an idea popped into her head. It was a long shot, but it was worth a try. And if it worked, it might ease some of the tension she knew everyone was feeling. "Invite Jake and the other wolves to the game?" she asked hesitantly.

"Bella…"

"You said anything. If you really love me, and want to prove to me that you are going to try, then you'll invite them."

"I'm not so sure that's a good idea."

"Why not?"

"It's…difficult."

She huffed, "I disagree. I think it's a great idea. Plus, it would be a nice gesture on your part too. You can help the others come around."  
He laughed grimly, "It's not that easy love, trust me. Everything we have against them is engraved into us, deep down. I know I'd be able to control myself, for your sake, but I'm not so sure the others would be as…open-minded."

"You know Carlisle wouldn't be against it. He's the one that convinced them to agree to the treaty in the first place."

He nodded in agreement. "True, and I'm sure Esme would go along with whatever Carlisle decides, she trusts his judgment. But Rose, Emmet, Alice, and Jasper may not."

"Ok, first of all, Alice has already promised me that she'd try to be more reasonable concerning the wolves, and Jasper, most likely, will go along with whatever she decides. And secondly, with Jasper there, he can help with the situation by calming everyone down."

He sighed once more. "It's a very difficult situation Bella. Even if we did convince the others to allow it, what makes you think we could convince the Quileute

to agree to it as well? Sam and the others have made it perfectly clear that they don't trust us, even now."  
"Ok, so Sam might be difficult, but you can't deny that Seth would be all for it."

"True, he's more open-minded than the others. But what about Jacob?"

"Jake might need a little convincing, but it will work, I know it will."

Edward chuckled, "And why does it sound like you're talking about more than a simple baseball game?"

She looked at him with optimism in her eyes, "I just want you all to get along. You and Jake are two of the most important people in my live. It would mean a lot to me if there wasn't any more tension between you two."

"You have such high hopes that this will change everything, bring us all together in unity, but I'm not so sure it will work. I can only do so much Bella. My efforts to befriend the wolves, for your sake, can only go so far. Compromise and acceptance can go both ways. Intolerance gets in the way of us coexisting peacefully, I'm not sure they are willing to do the same."

"But you can try," she pleaded, "for me?"

"I'll see what I can do."

Bella's face lit up with a smile. "Thank you so much!" she exclaimed as she kissed him on the lips with a quick peck. "This means so much to me."

"I'm not making any promises that it will work, so don't get too excited."

"I won't, I'm just delighted you're gonna try. But I know it will, I'm sure of it." She reached up to try and give him another kiss, when a low growl came from her stomach. They both laughed.

"Breakfast time for the human?" he asked.

She chuckled. "Yeah, I guess I should get something to eat. I'm going to need to get my strength up for the game today."

Edward rose from the bed, and extended his hand out to her. "Shall we?"

She took his hand and stood next to him, allowing him to take her arm in his.

"What about Charlie? Isn't he here?"

He shook his head. "No, he left about two hours ago to go fishing with Billy. He left you a note on the kitchen table. He didn't want to wake you."

"Then it would seem we have our whole morning ahead of us, what shall we do till the game?" she asked as they made their way down the stairs.

"Well, for starters, you need to eat some breakfast, and while you do that I'm gonna give Carlisle a call and see what he says about your little plan. Then, if all goes well, we gotta make a few calls to actually invite everyone down to the clearing."

She nodded. Once they were in the kitchen, she went about getting herself a bowl of cereal. She was too anxious to get ready and head out. Maybe, if they had time, they could go visit with the rest of the Cullens, before the game.

She was at the Cullen house almost everyday it seemed, but she loved it there.

She quickly ate her breakfast and was just rinsing out her bowl in the sink, when Edward got off his cell and turned to Bella.

"So what's the verdict?"

"Well, Carlisle, as predicted seems to agree with you, and thinks it's a good idea to include the wolves in the game as well…"

"I told you he'd be ok with it."

"Yes, but also like me, he thinks it might be a little difficult convincing the others. Pretty much everyone else is out hunting right now, to prepare for our guests, so he wants us to go down there to help him talk to the others about it when they get back. Do you mind going down there?"

"Not at all," she said shaking her head. "I was just thinking about wanting to go over there anyways, to visit. Let me just rush up stairs and change so we can go."

"Take your time love, Carlisle said they just left about ten/ twenty minutes ago, we have plenty of time."

"I'll be quick. I'm glad I took a shower last night, now I just have to decide what to wear," she said, turning to the stairs. Suddenly a thought entered her head and she stopped in her tracks. "Oh, Alice!" she exclaimed.

Edward chuckled, "What? Did you want my sister's fashion advice all of a sudden? I'm sure you can catch her on your cell if you really want to be her Barbie doll again."

"No, not even close," she laughed. "No, I need to remember to ask her to give me one of my tops back."

"What is she doing with one of your shirts?"

"I think she must have taken it or something. I admit it's not the most stylish thing in my wardrobe, but it's the nicest top I have. I can't find it anywhere. I assume Alice took it to hold it hostage or something."

"Bella, Alice never took your top. Are you sure you didn't just misplace it?"

"Hey, I take offence to that. So my room isn't the most organized in the world, but it has it's own system, even if it doesn't make sense at first glance."

Edward laughed. "With as clean as you keep the rest of the house, it always amazes me that your room is the one place you hardly ever touch."

"Who has the time? I'd rather spend it with you," she said with a smile. "Now what were you saying about Alice not having my top?"

"Well, as far as I know, she doesn't have it. I know my sister, and I'm fairly certain if she had taken it, I would have saw that in her mind at some point."

"Oh…hmm, what could I have done with it then, I wonder?"

Edward stiffened. "Wait, when did you notice it was missing?"

"Uh, maybe Friday morning when I was getting ready for school."

"The day after someone had been in your room?" he asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I was going to grab it so I could put it on that day, but it wasn't in the chair where I had left it….what's wrong?" she asked, suddenly reading the look of alarm on his face.

"Is it something you have worn before? Did you try it on maybe the day before?"

"I think so, why?"

"It had your scent. It's possible whoever was in your room took it."

"Oh," she replied, at first not at all concerned, till it dawned on her what that meant. "OH!" she exclaimed in alarm. "You think whoever it was wanted my scent so they could track me?!"

"I don't know, but I need to talk to Carlisle about this, and fast. I'll call him again while you get ready, then we'll go."

She stood there momentarily frozen. Why did it seem like things were always coming at them? Were they never allowed a moment of peace?

He pulled her into a tight hug, pulling her from her thoughts. "It's going to be ok love, I'm not going to let anything harm you. We just need to talk to Carlisle and see if he knows what this all might mean."

She nodded softly in response.

"He lifted her chin and kissed her on the lips. "I promise you, nothing's gonna harm you, not while I'm around."

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**_I hope you all liked this chapter! I promise really hard to try and get back in the swong of things and get chapters posted regularly again, if not once a week, then hopefully every two weeks. I have an outline written out for what I have planned for basicly this whole story, it's just the whole getting on the screen is the tough part._**

**_Please please please leave a review and let me know what ya think! :)_**


	18. Fascinating Information

**_A/N Ok, so I know I totally and utterly suck and I seriously appologize to you all who have been waiting months for the next chapter. Yes I have had an outline for this story and still do, but when that writer's block hits, sometimes even the outline can't help. I grovel at everyones feet, please please PLEASE forgive me!_**

**_On another note, I do wanna make a quick shoutout to all my reviewers: krys_ben, Danielle_The_Grammar_Nazi, angelplusbuffyequals4ever, Sateda, Andro'sGirl4Life93, J_for_Jenny, nick, ShadowCub, relhoff, YezzerBezzers, Team Rosalie, Greytune, and Kale Henderson. Reviews make me smile!_**

**_Also thanks to those who have added me and this fic to your faves and/or following lists!_**

**_Now onto the much anticipated Ch. 18!_**

_**I do NOT own the characters of Buffy or Twilight, just the very talented Joss Whedon and Stephenie Meyer do.**_

**_In the words of J for Jenny (yes I said I'd borrow this) "Reviews are the embarasing stories i love to hear!"_**

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**CHAPTER 18- Fascinating Information**

"Don't you think it would be sensible to drive a little more safely?" Giles asked Xander nervously. Xander, Dawn, and him were now in the car and headed up to La Push, to meet with the werewolves.

Xander laughed. "You're just not up with the times G-man…"

"G-man?"

"Just trying out a new nickname."

"Never, call me G-man, it's horrendous and makes me sound like a…a…ruffian."

"Or a terrible name for a porn star," Dawn joked from the back seat." Xander and Giles both turned to look at her, shocked. "What? I can't make with the funnies too?"

"Anyway," Xander began, "I'm sorry GILES. I promise to never call you that again. But I'm really not driving all that fast. Just be glad we didn't try and get a ride with one of the Cullens, now they drive fast."

"And how do you know?"

"I was talking cars with Jasper, seems most of the family is all for fast cars. Driving slow to them is like 80 miles per hour."

"Wait," Dawn piped up. "The Cullens couldn't have given us a ride, even if we asked. Remember the treaty between them and the werewolves?"

"Just using it as an example," Xander said defensively.

"Children please," Giles interrupted. "Can you just keep your eyes on the road Xander?"

"Gotcha, besides, I think we're almost there." He could see the break in the trees ahead. According to the directions Leah gave him over the phone, they had to be about two or three miles away from Sam and Emily's house, and wolf central.

"Are you sure Seth's going to be there too?" Dawn asked. "Maybe he's at our house waiting for me."

"Relax Dawnie, when I talked to Leah, Seth was there, she told him I'd bring ya with me."

"And this Sam will be there too right?" asked Giles. "He knows that I am going and why, correct?"

"Yeah, he knows. According to Leah, he's much more eager to talk about why they don't trust the Cullens, and why we shouldn't either."

"It's a tough call. It seems like we are being pulled back and forth between the two sides."

"What side do you wanna pick Giles?" asked Dawn eagerly. "Team Edward or Team Jacob? Team Sam or Team Carlisle?"

"What about just Team Wolf or Team Vampire?" laughed Xander.

"I don't really find what is so amusing to you both. At this point I can't really decide until I hear both sides to this whole mess. It seems to me like it is a lot of misunderstanding. Like more communication is all that is needed between the two groups."

"You think their lack of communication is all that's keeping them apart? It can't be that simple, can it?"

"Look at the facts Xander. If Buffy hadn't been stunned by Edward…well…glistening in the sun, rather than bursting into flames, don't you think he'd be dead at this point? I believe that if she hadn't been distracted long enough for him to explain, we might have an entire vampire family angry with us, and we could be at war with them this very minute."

"I'm not sure they would have been much of a challenge for us. A family of vampires, against three powerful slayers and four seasoned demon fighters, no contest."

"Hey," piped up Dawn, "I thought you liked the Cullens."

"I do, but Leah doesn't like them much. Like the rest of the wolves, she doesn't trust them. I wanna find out why, but I also want to stay open-minded. They haven't done anything to us."

"Seth likes them enough."

Xander laughed, "And he would be the one exception. But the only reason he trusts them is because you do Dawn, you said so yourself. He doesn't even know the Cullens, not really. All the good things he really knows about them is what he's heard from you and Bella. And while yes she trusts them, Sam and the others don't trust her judgment."

"You seem to know a lot about this situation already," Giles commented.

"Ok, so I was talking to Leah for a while on the phone. Can ya blame a man in love?"

"If I wasn't in love with Seth, I'd say gag me, but I wholeheartedly see where you're coming from Xander!" Dawn said happily.

"At the risk of sounding like an immature child, are we there yet?" Giles said jokingly.

"Oh yeah, sorry G-ma…I mean Giles," Xander said as he took a left, onto a narrow dirt road.

Xander took caution, driving slowly. The long driveway, that he suddenly realized was not a road, was a little rocky and rough. Up ahead they could see the small one story house, amongst the many surrounding trees. It was a quaint little house with white shutters.

"Oh, and before I forget," Xander began, "Leah asked that we not stare at Emily cause it bothers Sam."

"Why would we?"

Xander shrugged, "She wouldn't tell me why, just that we'd figure it out once we saw her." Giles nodded. He looked up at the small house. "You said all the wolves live here? And in such a tiny home?" he asked amazed. "But how do they all fit?"

"Just Sam and Emily live here. But the rest of the wolf pack drops in from time to time. Kinda like wolf central," he answered, parking the car.

"DAWN! You came!" Seth shouted excitedly as he bounded out the front door and down the porch.

Dawn quickly got out of the back seat and ran to his side. He pulled her tightly into a hug. "Why do you sound so surprised?" she laughed. "I'm yours forever, remember? Isn't that how you said this whole thing works?"

He laughed with her. "It still just kinda trips me out that I imprinted on you." Her face fell slightly. "No, don't get me wrong, I'm jazzed about it. I love you and I'm so lucky to have you, it's just, who knew it would happen to me!"

"Yes indeed," a grumpy voice said from behind.

"Hey Jacob!" Xander greeted as he and Giles got out of the car as well. "I'm surprised to see you here, I thought you might be off hanging with Bella or something."

"Not when she's with that bloodsucker. Besides, Sam asked me to stick around, I have no choice in the matter," he grumbled.

"From what I understand, he's not your legal guardian or anything like that, why would you be forced to do something you clearly don't want to do?" asked Giles.

Jacob shook his head and chuckled. "You have so much to learn British man."

Giles looked at him incredulously. "Well, you guys might as well come in." He stepped aside to allow them to walk up the front steps.

He looked over at Seth, to see him and Dawn still by the car, holding hands. "You two coming?"

Seth didn't answer. To the outside observer it would appear that the two were engaging in an intense starring contest. "Seth!" he shouted.

Finally realizing Jacob was talking to him, he broke his gaze and looked toward him. "Yeah?"

"Are you two coming in or not?" Jacob growled in annoyance.

Seth looked back at Dawn who simply smiled and nodded. "Most definitely!" he exclaimed.

"Whatever," Jacob sighed as he turned and walked through the door, with Seth and Dawn on his heels.

Walking inside he noticed Xander had already found Leah sitting on the couch and had taken a seat beside her. The whole notion of even Leah imprinting on someone when he still had not, was painful. He knew things would be so much easier if he had, maybe then Bella would know that they truly DID belong together after all. He did have to admit though, that it was kind of nice not to have to live the 'Leah-Sam-Emily pain fest' anymore.

"You must be Rupert Giles," Sam said as he held out his hand to the dashing British gentleman.

Giles took his hand and shook it, "It is wonderful to finally meet you, I have heard many things from Xander about you."

Sam chuckled, "Not as much as you'd like to know, I'm sure, considering you're hear to ask me a bunch of question about us, right?"

Giles took off his glasses and cleaned them nervously, "Well, yes, that is true, though part of my questions are about why you don't trust the Cullens."

"Would you guys like some muffins?" A dark haired female asked, carrying a tray over to the table. Giles was shocked to see the scars on the side of the woman's face. He was curious as to how she had gotten them, but remembering Xander's comment in the car, he quickly diverted his gaze and pushed the question to the back of his mind.

"I'm sorry, this is my fiancé, Emily," Sam introduced.

"It's nice to meet you as well" Giles replied. "You didn't have to go through all the trouble." He smiled.

Emily shrugged, "It's nothing, this pack of characters are always hungry, so I'm always cooking. It's relaxing though, I enjoy it."

"It would seem then that you and Esme are more alike that you'd think," Giles stated.

Sam looked confused and slightly irritated. "How would she be like those bloodsuckers?"

Giles was flustered. "I apologize, I just mean, Esme, she seems very protective of their whole family, she has a motherly spirit. Seems to me she'd do anything to make them all happy. Just like you."

Emily placed her hand on Sam's shoulder to calm him, "It's alright. Sam knows you didn't mean it offensively, I'm sure." Sam let out a low growl. "While he may disagree, I think I would get along well with this Esme at least. Though I doubt I'd want to go as far as trade recipes with her," she laughed.  
"Actually, she's a really great cook!" Xander piped up, finally joining the conversation.

"Leave it to you to have food be the one thing that gets you to pay attention Xander," Giles laughed.

"Hey, a guys gotta eat."

"You actually ate what that bloodsucker cooked for you?" Leah asked shockingly.

"I was eating garlic bread when I first met you, it was the bomb!"

"Ok, enough food talking aside, can we get back to the topic at hand," Jacob huffed.

"If you really don't want to be here, it's perfectly fine with me if you wanted to leave, maybe go talk to Bella," Giles offered politely.

He scoffed, "Yeah, like I said, I have no choice in the matter."

Giles looked at Sam confusingly. "It's a wolf thing. You see as the Alpha of the pack, if I choose to make an order, the entire pack must abide by it. No matter how hard they try they can not disobey an order. I try not to enforce it so much, only when I see it necessary. Usually I'll ask the others to do something instead."

"Hmm, that is certainly nothing I have ever come across before," he said. "Well aside from the few potions and spells here and there that can control one's minds or actions, but…"

"Spells?" asked Seth in awe. "Like real life magic?"

"Uh, yes. Real life magic, I guess if you want to call it that. The magics do exist. I have dabbled quite a bit over the years, most of which has come in handy with the many apocalypses we have faced."

"Wait, apocalypse? As in the end of the world?" Sam asked.

"Yes, where we lived before moving here was a town called Sunnydale in southern California. The town itself sat upon a hell mouth."

"Trust me, you did NOT want to go to our high school," Xander added. "The whole biggest evil part of it was right below the library. Yeah, good times, good times."

"So what other types of things had you faced living on the hell mouth?" asked Sam.

"Let's see, revenge demons, giant praying mantises, ghosts, both evil and good vampires. Oh, and our town's mayor turned into this huge monster that kinda looked like some sort of sea creature and ate our principal, which was actually kinda cool, and…"

"Xander!" Giles scolded.

"What? Snyder was an ass, I thought that was common knowledge."

He shook his head. "Anyways, as you see, there were many different types of beings we have come across in Sunnydale alone, including werewolves there. One of which dated Willow for awhile. But nothing, in all my years as training as a watcher, and all the research we have ever done when preparing to take on the latest evil back home, has come to close to explaining why the Cullens are the way they are. The not killing humans part is understandable, we know of two that gave up hunting humans, one of which had no choice in the beginning. But neither of them were able to walk into the sunlight and not burst into flames. It goes against what we are accustomed to."

"The vampire thing, I get. Totally different from what you are used to, from what you say you've experienced," replied Sam. "But why would there be any questions about us then since you've encountered werewolves before?"

"Well, we've never come across a pack quite as large as yours. The most we have ever encountered was two at once. And the whole imprinting thing makes no sense as well. I do know about destinies and fate, as a watcher I have had to study many prophecies that have been made about the slayer over the years, in order to prepare her for what's to come. The imprinting thing baffles us all, well excluding Xander and Dawn. They seem to be having no trouble accepting it," Giles chuckled, glancing at both Seth and Dawn standing in each other's arms, and Xander and Leah sitting on the couch with his arm around her shoulders. "It is all very new to us. And one can only guess, with the differences the Cullens have with the vampires we are used to, perhaps there are differences between you all and the werewolves we have faced."

Sam nodded, "Well, obviously, the Alpha giving orders part had you confused, to say the least."

"Yes, that was one."

"I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess that the werewolves you are familiar with are more closely related to the ones in horror movies. The notion of changing only at the full moon and one not knowing who they are or what they are doing when in wolf form."

Giles nodded. "Wait, you mean, you don't have to wait for the full moon to transform?"

"Of course not," said Seth. "Why do you think I said I'd run over here earlier instead of getting a ride?"

"I don't know, I guess I just assumed you were a very fast runner."

"Nope, I would have thought my howl would have given me away."

"That was you? I thought that was the neighbor's dog, or possibly a wolf. The forest is nearby."

"It was, just not the kind you thought," Seth said with a laugh.

"So, what you're saying is, you all can control it?" Xander asked.

Sam looked at Emily sadly. "Not as much as we'd like."

"If it's an uncomfortable question, we don't have to touch on it," said Giles.

Emily wrapped her arms around Sam and held him tight. "It's ok, you can tell them. It's already been forgiven."

Dawn could see the heartache in his eyes. He had been the one to give her those scars. She watched as he gently kissed the scarred side of Emily's face before turning to look in Giles direction once again. "You're right, we don't need the moon to phase into our wolf selves, we can do it at will. But other times, if tempers are high, we can lose control, and the wolf part comes bursting through. It's at those times that it's most dangerous for someone close by, they could get really hurt. Even those we love. In the end, it's them that must pay the price."

"That's why you don't like the Cullens, isn't it?" Dawn asked hesitantly. "You blame them for what you did to Emily."

He nodded sadly. "It's part of it. The reason we have become who we are is to help protect the ones we love from their kind. Many years ago, Jacob's great-grandfather, Ephraim Black, made a treaty with Carlisle. As long as they promised to never bite a human and if they kept that promise, he and the rest of his pack would keep their existence a secret. It is the only reason we have not tried to attack them. We have…"

Jacob's cell began to ring loudly, interrupting Sam. "Sorry," he said as he pulled it from his pocket. He looked down at the screen, it was Bella. He looked up at Sam who nodded, indicating he could answer it.

"Hey Bells!" he said excitedly.

Dawn noticed the dramatic change in his demeanor. It was when he talked to Bella that the anger and resentment he felt, towards the members of the pack that had already imprinted, disappeared.

"You want us to do what?" He asked all of a sudden. Everyone's attention was on him, trying to listen to this half of the conversation. "I bet the bloodsucker put you up to this didn't he?" he nearly spat into the phone.

His expression quickly changed from anger, to that of sadness. "I'm sorry Bells…..no, you're right." He sighed. "I'll ask Sam." He turned in Sam's direction, phone still in hand. "How do you feel about a game of baseball?"

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**_A/N: Hmm, I guess we all will have to wait till next chapter to see what Sam says about a baseball game. Do you think it will happen? What are your thoughts? ;)_**

**_Also, I know some have been a bit confused on a few bits, like some thinking Jacob is a bit overly sensitive in this fic, yes I am total Team Edward and I don't wanna bash him at all or anything, this is just how I see him in this story at this point. You Jacob lovers, I promise things will get better along the way. I tried to put a little more of what was going on in his head in this chapter, so I hope that gave some people insight._**

**_Also, the fact that Buffy didn't kill Edward right away, I truly believe that if she had seen him sparkle, she really would have been confused. Yes the slayer power is even stronger now because of the spell Willow did, I do think she still would have reacted this way. Besides, if she had been able to kill him right away this fic would have ended a long time ago, lol! :)_**

**_Please leave me a review. They make me as excited as seeing Eclipse at the midnight showing did!_**


	19. Apprehensive Invitations

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_**Hey everyone out there in fan fictionland! I really really really hope you enjoyed the last chapter and will enjoy this one two. While no, there is no actual baseball in this chapter, but I can promise that with the way things are heading, the game will happen in the next one. :)**_

_**I'd love to thank my wonderful reviewers: J for Jenny (loved the song you wrote, it's still stuck in my head, lol!), Danielle The Grammer Nazi, YezzerBezzers, Magik Sause Of Death, angelplusbuffyequals$ever, relhoff, fallen-wolfborn(I'm happy you were able to find a twilight fic you liked), shiftyless(hello newcomer), Cairine the Elf-Hearted, and DesireeStorm. You guys are all wonderfully awesome! It really makes my day when I see I have gotten a new review.**_

_**Shout out as well to all the new readers who are following and/or favorited my fic. :)**_

_**And now, onto the chapter! :)**_

_**I do NOT own the characters of Buffy or Twilight, just the very talented Joss Whedon and Stephenie Meyer do.**_

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CHAPTER 19- Apprehensive Invitations

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"Bella, love, please say something," Edward whispered as he parked Bella's truck in front of his house. She had been silent the whole way over, lost in thought. The suspense was killing him.

Edward quickly got out of the truck and rushed over to her door, opening it and taking her in his arms. "It's going to be ok love, we will protect you, I will protect you. I promise you, no one is going to make it past me to get to you."

Bella nuzzled into his chest, breathing in his scent, trying to calm herself. "I know you will, I'm just…"

"Scared," he finished for her. "And it's ok to be, it's a normal human reaction." He laughed. "If I wasn't so sure about us being able to conquer what's coming, then I would be too. You have the protection of my entire family."

She looked up into his eyes. "And Jacob too?" She asked hesitantly, gauging his reaction.

Edward nodded. "Yes, as much as I hate to admit it, he is more than capable to protect you. He's stronger than your average male."

She leaned up and kissed him softly on the lips. "Thank you," she whispered.

"For what?"

"For being accepting of him…well trying anyways. You don't know how much it means to me for you two to get along. You are both very important to me."

"I know, and I will do anything in my power to make you happy, even if it means needing to associate with the mu…Jacob."

Bella glared playfully at him. "Sorry, reflex." He chuckled and kissed her. "Now, why don't we go inside, the others are home now and Carlisle is waiting for me so we can talk about this 'bonding" idea of yours."

She nodded and let him lead her into the house. As soon as they walked through the door she saw the whole Cullen family in the living room waiting for them. Alice was seated on the couch and was looking at Bella sternly.

"What's wrong with Alice?" Bella asked.

"She is frustrated because she thinks her plans are going to be interrupted. She can't see anything in the clearing and knows it has something to do with the wolves, but not what," Edward chuckled.

"I don't see how the baseball game getting cancel is at all funny Edward. I was looking forward to hanging out with Dawn today."

Emmett suddenly caught on to what Alice had seen, or lack there of. He glanced back and forth between Alice and Edward. "Wait, the game is canceled? Damn it! I was all set to show Xander what a fastball REALLY is!" He frowned and crossed his arms.

The sight of him acting like a 5 year old made Bella laugh. "It's not funny!" Emmett complained.

"An intriguing idea," Jasper mused, raising one eyebrow up in thought. He was surprised he hadn't thought of it sooner. "I'm sure it would be the first of it's kind, but…would we be able to pull it off?"

Alice looked between Jasper and Edward. "Wait, you know something about this Jazz? You know what he has planned, don't you? How can you keep something like this from me? What is it?"

"Darling, please calm down," he said soothingly, slipping his arm around her waist and pulling her close. He nuzzled her head. "It's nothing like that. But your lack of vision, over these afternoons' events, should tell you exactly what Bella is suggesting."

"I can't read minds like my brother, you know that. All my blindness is telling me is that the wolves are involved in some way, and….oh." she said, suddenly catching on. She turned and glared at Bella again.

"What? What?" Emmett whined. "Tell me damn it! What's going on?"

"Bella suggested to Edward that we invite the wolves to our baseball game today," Carlisle stated. "And while it could be slightly difficult, mostly for their side, I think it's a wonderful idea."

Rosalie eyed Bella angrily. "Well I don't."

"Rose…"  
"I'm sorry, but am I the only one that sees this is a bad idea? We already know how unstable they are, and now you want us to…play fetch with them? I'm sorry; it's one thing to have to handle their stench when they are even 50 miles away, let alone a few feet."

Esme walked over and put her hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her. "It would be a nice gesture. Maybe it could even help bridge the gaps between us."

"Emmett, say something?" Rosalie pleaded.

Emmett, who had been quiet in thought for a moment, looked up with a smirk on his face. "Bring it on."

"Emmett!"

"What? We'll have no problem kicking their big hairy asses. Besides, I'd like to show that Paul character a thing or two. Especially after that confrontation we had at the treaty line a few weeks ago."

Jasper laughed at his enthusiasm.

"I'm not sure I like this idea very much," Alice stated, shaking her head. "I'm with Rose, I'm not sure if it would even be possible. Plus, I'm not so happy about the fact that I can't see a damn thing when they are around."

Jasper took Alice's hand in his and looked into her eyes. "I'm sure Edward would not have agreed to such a thing if he didn't have faith that it could work. Besides, I might be able to help keep the piece a bit while we are out there, at least long enough for us to get through this game."

"But Jazz…"

"Are you doubting my mad mood control skills?" he chuckled.

"No, but…"

"I really think Bella might be onto something here. But Darlin', if you really and truly believe that there is no way in hell that it could work, then I am on your side. 100%"

She looked him in the eyes and took a moment to think it over. "Fine," she sighed. She glanced over at Bella.

"You mean it Alice?"

"I did promise to try with the whole Jacob thing right?" Bella nodded. "This may be stretching my patience pretty far; but if it will make you happy than I'll give it a shot."

"Thank you Alice. It means a lot."

"So what time is this bad boy going down?" Emmett asked enthusiastically.

"You can't be serious?" Rose asked incredulously. "Am I the only one who can see reason here?"

"Rose…" Emmett pleaded with his love.

She glared at Bella as she spoke, "Sure, let's all just do whatever the hell Bella wants. You know, things were going great before she came into Edward's life."

Edward growled in anger as he held Bella close. She looked sadly at the ground.

She knew it was true, if she had never met them, they wouldn't have to even worry about trying to coexist with the wolves, or the impending doom that seemed to follow her around constantly.

If she hadn't met Edward, the Cullens could be off in Alaska or some other cold and rainy location, and happy. She wouldn't be as happy as she was now, but at least Edward would have.

As if he could read her mind, he leaned down and whispered in her ear. "Don't listen to her. I came alive the moment I met you Bella, don't forget that."

"UGH!" Rose groaned as she got up and stormed out of the room.

Emmett shook his head and sighed. "I'll go after her. And don't worry Bella, the game is on! I'll talk to her."

She nodded shyly in response. "Thanks Em." She said, then he exited the room, in search of Rosalie.

"You know better than to listen to her, Bella," Alice chimed in. "She's just always moody. Sometimes I think she was on her period when she died."

"Alice!" Edward and Jasper groaned.

"What? You have to admit, she does seem to be in a constant state of PMS."

Bella tried to hold back her giggle, but couldn't. Alice smiled back at her once again happy appearance.

"Not to bring on the dire, but there is another reason we came," Edward interrupted. "While Bella was getting ready this morning, she couldn't find a top of hers. It's missing. My guess is whoever was in her room is using it to track her."

Alice looked puzzled. "Are you sure you didn't just misplace it Bella? I mean, I HAVE seen your closet. It's not that organized…."

"Hey," Bella said defensively, "Just because I don't sort my clothes by occasion, color, and style, doesn't mean I'm not organized." She laughed.

"Never the less," Edward continued. "I really believe that whoever was in there has her top. I'm just not certain as to why they would want to track her."

"I know we have discussed this before, but our scent is all around her. Just like Esme had suggested. Could that be a possible reason?"

"But why would they need her scent? It makes no sense."

"That's it, Bella, you are staying here till this whole matter gets figured out," Esme stated.

Edward shook his head, "I agree she needs even more protection, but how do you plan to explain to Charlie why she is staying at our home for so long? I can only be "camping" for so long." He chuckled.

"Darn, I hadn't thought of that. So what now, we take shifts?"

"This is ridiculous! I don't need a babysitter," Bella said frustratingly.

"Not a babysitter love, a bodyguard. And weren't you the one who said you were scared for your safety?"

"Yes, but…I can't have you all disrupting your lives just so someone can be with me at all times. Besides, I'm sure Rosalie wouldn't like the plan much either. She hates me."

"I don't hate you Bella," Rose suddenly said, coming in the room, with her arm around Emmett's torso, and his around hers. "I don't like you, but I don't hate you."

"Rose…"Edward cautioned.

"Maybe she should know why I don't like her."

"What?" Bella asked in confusion.

"I'd like to tell you about how I was changed. The whole story, and why I think you are making a huge mistake in choosing this life."

"Perhaps we should save this for a bit later," Carlisle suggested. He was no Jasper, but even he could feel the tension in the room.

"But Carlisle…."

"Just until tonight. It's beginning to get late and we do have some invitations to extend for tonight's game."

Rosalie sighed. "Fine, if we must go through with this, then…whatever. Fine." She looked at Bella, "But tonight, we should talk."

Bella looked a little frightened, but nodded in agreement. She was curious as to what made her feel the way she did towards her.

Edward rubbed her shoulders to calm her. It didn't take long for her to relax against him.

"I hate to disturb you love, but Carlisle is right. Would you like to make the call? After all, they may take it better from you than from any of us."

She reluctantly pulled away from him and took her cell phone out of her pocket. Hesitantly she began to dial. It rang a few times before he answered. She was relieved, she had begun to wonder if he even would.

"Hi Jake!" she greeted happily.

"Hey Bells!" Jacob answered excitedly.

"I kinda sort of had a favor to ask of you." She waited to see if he'd say anything else, when he didn't, she continued. "You see, Buffy and her family were going to join the Cullen's and I and get together to play a game of baseball tonight, and well, I wondered if you and the rest of the pack would like to come and join us."

"You want us to do what?" He asked angrily. He groaned in frustration. "I bet the bloodsucker put you up to this didn't he?" he nearly spat into the phone.

"He didn't Jake, it was all my idea. I thought it would be a nice thing for you all to do together. Something fun that lacked actual violence. Both of you guys are important to me, and the Cullen's are trying at least, for me. I can't believe you'd be so pigheaded about this. You can't even ask Sam what he thinks?"

There was silence for a moment before Jacob sighed on his end. "I'm sorry Bells…..no, you're right. I'll ask Sam." She knew he had now pulled the phone away from his face, but she could still hear him speaking on the other end. "How do you feel about a game of baseball?"

There was a bit of arguing on the other end and a low scuffle. She heard the phone hit the floor with a plop and figured things weren't going so well. She listened to the silence for a moment and waited patiently for him to get back on the phone, but he didn't, instead, it was Sam's voice she could now hear on the other end.

"Bella? I have been sitting here talking to Rupert, and while I am somewhat hesitant about the whole thing, he has assured me that he thinks it would a good idea as well. Who knows, maybe then we can at least discuss at length, after the game, with the Cullen's about this intruder you had in your house. Jacob was telling me about it, and we'd like to help."

She smiled brightly. She was pleasantly surprised that Buffy's Watcher was clearly on their side. "Thank you Sam. You won't regret this, I know it! Here's Edward." She handed the phone to him so he could give the wolves directions to the clearing and to set the meeting time.

Once he hung up he handed the phone back to Bella. "Let's play ball." He said, before he kissed her sweetly on the lips."


End file.
